Tous Designer House
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Fashion, Jewelry |
| Founded | Manresa (Barcelona), Catalonia (1920) |
| Founder | Salvador Tous Blavi, Teresa Ponsa Mas |
| Headquarters | Manresa, Catalonia (Spain) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Salvador Tous |
| Revenue | €305 million (2009) Sales figures |
Number of employees | 2,000 |
| Website | www.tous.com |
Tous (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈtɔws]) is a jewelry, accessories and fashion firm based in Catalonia, Spain .
History
In 1920, Salvador Tous Blavi and his wife Teresa Ponsa Mas opened a small watch repair workshop that progressively grew in prominence in the jewelry industry. In 1965, Salvador Tous, the son of the founder, married Rosa Oriol — the pair pooled their talents, experience and creativity for the purpose of designing a new style of jewelry. At present, the brand name has more than 400 stores in 45 countries, and in cities such as New York City, Paris, Moscow, Milan and Tokyo, among others.[1]
Since 1920, TOUS has created jewelry as the company’s core-business, but also produces a broad range of accessories, such as bags, watches, perfumes, eyeglasses, textiles and small leather goods. As of 2012, the company produces 30 annual collections.[2]
The Teddy Bear
During one of her trips, in 1985, Oriol drew inspiration from what would later become one of the leading icons of the brand name, the emblematic teddy bear. “During one of my trips, I saw a small teddy bear in a shop window and it brought back all the endearing memories of my childhood. And then I thought: Why not make a little bear out of gold?” “Over the years, it has become a lucky charm for millions of people all over the world and for us, it marked the beginning of our international expansion. Even though we are continuously launching collections, the bear is always present in different shapes and forms. It is very, very special to me”.
Contemporary era
Oriol's creative capacity and Tous' managerial skills resulted in a national expansion during the 1980s. The Tous’ four daughters — Rosa, Alba, Laura and Marta — subsequently joined the family business.
For the first time, the company has collaborated with Eugenia Martinez de Irujo, the daughter of the Duchess of Alba. Consolidated over numerous years, the working relationship with the Duchess of Montoro, which is her title, has led to the development of a signature collection; "Iluminada", "Leyendas" and "Cercle" are some of her recent product releases.
In the 1990s, the international expansion began with the opening of the brand's first store in Japan; countries like Mexico and the United States followed. Kylie Minogue has been one of several celebrity “images” of the brand name and have contributed to consolidating TOUS' international popularity. In 2011, TOUS chose Jennifer Lopez as the image for its Spring–Summer campaign. In this same year, TOUS also launched a special collaboration with Manolo Blahnik for the creation of the "Manolo Blahnik for TOUS" collection; the collaborative release consisted of pendants that are a faithful reproduction, in gold and in silver, of the famous “Campari” shoe.
The company's estimated sales (in 2010/2011) were €450 million in total sales and €30 million in watches.[3]
Causes
In 2012, TOUS is listed as a partner of the (RED) campaign, together with other brands such as Nike, Inc., Girl, American Express and Converse. The campaign's mission is to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child by 2015 (the campaign's byline is "Fighting For An AIDS Free Generation").[4]
See also
References
- ↑ "Tous webpage". Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ↑ "LEADERS Magazine". Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ↑ Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
- ↑ "(RED) Partners". (RED). The ONE Campaign. 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.