Révillon Frères
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| Industry | Furs and luxury products |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1839 |
| Founder | Louis-Victor Revillon |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Paris |
Revillon Frères (Revillon Brothers) was a French fur and luxury goods company, founded in Paris in 1723. Then called la Maison Givelet, it was purchased by Louis-Victor Revillon in 1839 and soon, as Revillon Frères, became the largest fur company in France. Branches were opened in London in 1869 and in New York in 1878. At the end of the 19th century, Revillon had stores in Paris, London, New York City, and Montreal.
Through its fur buying bureau in Leipzig, Germany (1876), and an agency in Moscow (1905), the company bought most its furs from the markets of Moscow, Leipzig and at the annual fairs in Nizhny Novgorod (Gorki) at the Makaryev Fair and in Irbit at the Irbit Fair.
From 1908-1909 Revillon Frères opened fur trading posts in Siberia, Mongolia and Turkestan. By 1912 Revillon Frères had 125 fur trading posts in America and Siberia.
In the 1960s, Revillon acquired Grauer Furs, New York's preeminent fur manufacturing company. Grauer Furs was founded by Austrian immigrant William Grauer and later operated by Grauer's two sons, Abraham and Herman. In 1970, in a deal negotiated by Herman Grauer, Revillon became the fur supplier to Saks 5th Avenue. This arrangement lasted until 1995.
In 1982, Revillon was acquired by hypermarket operator Cora, and became its luxury division Cora-Revillon. Subsequently, Cora-Revillon became a separate company, now privately owned, with Revillon as its primary brand. Besides furs, Revillon produces perfume.
In 1899 Revillon Frères opened a wholesale warehouse in Edmonton, Alberta and by 1903 had 23 stores across Canada. Owned by Victor Revillon, Revillon Frères eventually set up a network of fur-trading posts in northern Canada in direct competition with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) composed of an eastern division and a western division.
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