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Corgi Brand Guide
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Corgi has it roots firmly in West Wales where Rhys Jones, an enterprising local trader, opened a small shop called Ford Mills in 1893. Rhys concentrated on drapery items, supplying goods by horse and cart, and quickly developed a thriving business. He spotted an opportunity to manufacture items and purchased a number of second hand Griswald hand operated circular knitting machines to produce thigh high woollen socks for local colliers. He then followed on with a similar product but in a finer quality for men to wear to chapel on Sundays. From the beginning Rhys paid enormous attention to detail and quality, and as the reputation of his products grew demand spread across east and mid Wales. Upon his death, his son John Jones continued to operate the business, to be succeeded in turn by the grand daughter Enid Jones. In 1935 Enid married local teacher Glyn Jones who took up the management of the business along with this wife. |
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The second world war brought contracts to produce socks for both the British and Allied forces and the work force was doubled to meet demand, along with the purchase of new automatic machinery. |
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While on a buying visit to a Bedford factory, Glyn Jones observed how his original Griswald hand operated machines could be adapted for special design effects, and when he returned to the Welsh factory he experimented and taught one of his employees the design and production of what was later to become known as Argyle patterned socks. |
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The quality and design of the socks attracted immediate attention and within a very short time the company found it was receiving orders from America and beyond. The export market had commenced! To meet growing demand, additional Griswald machines were purchased and it soon became clear that the company would have to expand and move to larger premises to meet demand. |
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As part of the change, a new company Corgi Hosiery Ltd was formed to cover the manufacturing side of the business – the name was influenced by a Corgi dog which was a Welsh Breed and was made popular of course by the then Princess Elizabeth’s fondness for the breed. The company continued to expand and develop, and when Enid and Glyn’s son, Huw Jones, joined the company in 1960, he started diversifying into knitwear and the company continued to grow, developing a worldwide reputation for its beautiful quality and design. |
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In 1989 Corgi was awarded a 'Royal Warrant' by his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. This has become a mark of quality for the companies products across the world and is regarded with enormose pride by everyone at corgi. In 1997, the involvement of the Jones family in the business was secured for another generation when Huw Jones was joined by his son Chris Jones and his daughter Mrs Lisa Wood. Since 1997 the company has undergone a period of change, expanding its product lines to include ladies and children's wear. In 2008 Chris & Lisa took over the running of the business when Huw Jones decided to (semi) retire. Lisa and Chris wanted to expand the business, but to achieve this investment was needed and more importantly the company needed to expand its sales capabilities. Mr Robert Yentob and Mr Alan Khazam, owners of Dents, a British Glove manufacturer renowned for quality manufacturing were invited to become partners in the business. This gave corgi access to a much larger sales network and a London showroom. Today the company is recognised as the leader in beautiful hand framed knitwear and hand linked socks that are unequalled in quality and design. The company works with many top designers, producing garments for their collections, and Corgi’s own designed knitwear and socks are now stocked in leading department stores and fashion shops across the world. In the past 2 months we have invested in new machinery that allows us to enter the fine gauge sock market. Corgi has built up a good reputation for very high quality, and this reputation is undoubtedly down to the highly skilled and dedicated workforce. Most employees have been with the company for many years, with extremely low staff turnover. Skills are handed down from person to person, and everybody takes great pride in the work they do and the products we make. In the last 2 years the Factory has undergone a full renovation, greatly improving the working conditions for the staff, and allowing for improved efficiency. At the same time a lot of effort has been made to make the company greener, reducing and recycling waste and reducing unnecessary energy usage. |
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Corgi has won numerous awards and accolades including being awarded a Royal Warrant by his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, and the UK Fashion Export Award. |
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