Jeeves of Belgravia

Jeeves of Belgravia (or Jeeves) is a British multinational retailer which offers specialist dry cleaning, garment and accessories care services. The company is based in London and currently has over 30 branches in 14 cities around the world, including; London, New York, and Hong Kong.[1]

Jeeves of Belgravia Ltd
TypePrivate Ltd
IndustryCleaning products
Cleaning services
Founded1969
FounderSydney Jacob
David Sandeluss
Headquarters
London, England
,
England
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
John Timpson
Will Lankston
ServicesDry cleaning
Cleaning products
Websitewww.jeevesofbelgravia.co.uk

History
Jeeves of Belgravia, flagship store on Pont Street

The company was founded in 1969 by Sydney Jacob and David Sandeluss.[2][3] After being granted permission from P.G. Wodehouse to use the Jeeves name, the pair opened a shop at 8-10 Pont Street in Belgravia, London offering a specialist dry cleaning service for luxury garments.[4] This shop in Pont Street is still the flagship shop today.

Sandeluss later sold his shares in the business to Sydney Jacob, who brought his brother Ronald Jacob into the ownership of the company.[4][5][6]

In 1980, the Jacob brothers sold Jeeves UK for £695,000 to women's clothing group Tricoville Ltd, under chairman Anthony Jacobs (no relation).[4][5] At the same time, Tricoville also bought a 10% stake in Jeeves of Belgravia International, for £80,000.[4][5] Jeeves was sold to Sketchley in 1987.[7] The Sketchley retail business operated its own chain of high street dry cleaners, as well as owning the SupaSnaps photo processing chain. In 1998, Sketchley was acquired by Minit Group, the international key cutting and shoe repair brand.[8] Then in 2003, the Jeeves business was purchased by Johnson Service Group which at the time, operated the largest chain of dry cleaners in the UK- Johnson Dry Cleaners.[8] In 2017, the Timpson Group acquired the Johnson Dry Cleaners business for £8.25m, and thus acquired Jeeves of Belgravia and Jeeves International.[9]

Jeeves opened its first overseas branch in New York in 1979.[10] In 1994, the business opened its first branch in Hong Kong[11] and then in 1995 Jeeves expanded to Jakarta.[12] This international expansion has continued in recent years, with Jeeves now having branches in 13 countries around the world, including Philippines (Metro Manila), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Taiwan (Taipei), UAE (Abu Dhabi), Qatar (Doha) and Turkey.[8] Jeeves has held a royal warrant for Dry Cleaning Services to HRH The Prince of Wales for more than 30 years.[11][13]

References
  1. "Jeeves Stores". Jeeves of Belgravia. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  2. "Cleaning up in Pont Street". Evening Standard. London. 9 June 1971. pp. 26–27. David Sandeluss makes you think more of a schoolboy who has received an unexpected tuck box than of a rising tycoon. . . But even after two highly successful years, he and his partner Sydney Jacob, are still starry-eyed about the business
  3. C, Julie (7 October 2019). "Thank You For Your Custom - Jeeves of Belgravia Turns 50". Jeeves of Belgravia. Retrieved 27 May 2020. Sydney Jacob and David Sandeluss founded Jeeves of Belgravia in London in 1969. Their mission was to provide the capital's well-dressed with the highest-quality dry cleaning and garment care services.
  4. Pope, LeRoy (24 April 1980). "'Jeeves' aims at perfect garments". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, Texas. UPI. p. 7E. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. Mughal, Rafiq (10 January 1980). "Tricoville buys Jeeves". The Guardian. London, England. p. 17. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. "Meeting challenges and making friends". National Clothesline. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  7. "Board changes". Investegate. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  8. Mesure, Susie (12 May 2003). "Johnson adds touch of class with Jeeves chain acquisition". Independent. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  9. Curry, Rhiannon (5 January 2017). "Timpson's buys Johnson's dry cleaning arm". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  10. SLESIN, SUZANNE (22 December 1979). "A Basically British Dry Cleaner". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  11. "The dry cleaning company marks 45 years of service for high profile clients such as the British Royal Family". Hong Kong Tatler. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  12. "IDC NEws - Jakarta Indonesia 2018" (PDF). International Drycleaners Congress. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  13. "Jeeves Royal Warrant Holders". The Royal Warrant Holders Association. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
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