Par for the course

Advertisement, House of Bruar, The Scotsman, 13 September 2002

So much for present success - what for the future?

The company has an emphatic policy: there never will be another House of Bruar. Mark Birkbeck receives at least a dozen approaches each year ranging from invitations for him to set up shop in the Lake District to associations involving the bluest of blood. He’s refused them all - ever so politely of course.

“I’ve done it once, I don’t want to do it again". His Jumpers chain had outlets all over the country and multi-ownership is not something he wants to repeat. “There comes a time in your life when quality of life becomes more important. I want to live in Scotland. You can attain standards on one site that you cannot on a hundred sites.”

The House of Bruar’s foundations are based on servicing the field sports fraternity, as well as walkers and climbers. But Birkbeck saw the need to diversify and saw the future huge money earner in Scotland was going to be golf.

When Birkbeck talks about building a brand, he means creating a name that automatically conjures up an aspirational lifestyle. For example, the name Dunhill is associated with luxury goods as much as tobacco. Although House of Bruar has managed to build a brand in field sports and country clothing over eight or so years, to do the same in golf would cost millions of pounds. That’s because the Americans have an overwhelming monopoly in the area. But Birkbeck got lucky. Out of nowhere, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews wanted to talk about setting up a knitwear outlet overlooking the 18th green at St Andrews.

“The relationship we were offered with the R&A was extremely flattering. This is a 200 year old brand which had never been exploited. The R&A recognised that they needed to become more commercial and when they looked around at opportunities and venues, they felt the House of Bruar was the kind of quality operation they were happy to be associated with. They originally approached us and we said no, there’s only one House of Bruar; then realism started to hit home. We realised this was an opportunity to establish ourselves in golf. Golfers are only interested in brand. They believe in what they are wearing.”

And so the Claret Jug brand was born. Birkbeck approached cashmere specialists Johnstons of Elgin to produce the finest Scottish knitwear based on fabrics such as cashmere, fine lambswool, mohair, merino and silk, all carrying the refined mark. In May this year, Golf St Andrews opened with 15,000 sq ft of prime retail space, overlooking the 18th green of the Old Course, making it probably the most significant, important golf retail site in Great Britain, arguably in the world.

This unprecedented move by The R&A to grant exclusive rights to use the Claret Jug motif has resulted in a motif which could almost be described as the Nike tick of the golf club elite. “The Nike brand is very, very commercial, hugely significant, modern and far reaching,” says Birkbeck choosing his words carefully. “The Claret Jug is far-reaching, not as well known or commercial, but a degree more understated, which is what the House of Bruar is all about: understatement.” At a barely more than 1cm square, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club symbol is certainly less obvious. The Claret Jug is like a secret code epitomising a lifestyle and even a shared set of values that like-minded people will recognise. “The great thing about the Claret Jug as a brand is it has an enormous history but it is also wonderfully understated, it’s respectable and it’s British.”

Scotland is the home of golf; golf is one of Scotland’s biggest assets. Yet visitors to Scotland’s golf courses have comparatively little choice of indigenous products. “It occurred to me to that achieve real credibility we should be selling Scottish goods in Scotland, whether it’s food or cloth. People coming here want to buy what is Scottish and not what is Italian. The US has monopolised the golf market in St Andrews and elsewhere. Golf St Andrews has exactly the same ethos as at the House of Bruar, we’re selling understatement. We offer the best of Scottish and British clothing, with the added benefit of the Clatet Jug brand, and no hint of Americanism.”

He looks forward to building on House of Bruar’s reputation and existing high standards. “There never will be another House of Bruar,” restates Mark Birkbeck. “And as far as Golf St Andrews is concerned, it is unlikely that we will ever open another Golf St Andrews, but with the permission of the R&A we may well further the Claret Jug brand through mail order.”

Further relevant information:

The Dunhill name - Alfred Dunhill Limited, Knightsbridge, London

Omitting any reference to how it all began - Dunhill tobacco links