An upmarket international brand with a strong South African connection.
Kurt Geiger is a high-end chain of footwear and apparel stores catering to men; women and children. It’s named after its founder, an Austrian who had settled in London. The company manufactures its own line of branded products under the Kurt Geiger London, KG Kurt Geiger, and Carvela Kurt Geiger brands. The stores also stock other designer brands such as Gucci, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, UGG and many others. The privately-owned company’s first store opened in London’s world-renowned Bond street in 1963, followed shortly by another store in Sloane Street. In 1972, the stores and brand name were acquired by David Spitz, a South African who had immigrated to the UK, who owned another luxury shoe store on Bond Street. David had a history of launching successful shoe businesses, having opened the A&D Spitz store in Johannesburg in 1968 with his brother, Anthony. David was also the founder of Carvela shoes which would later become an exclusive Kurt Geiger brand. The first Kurt Geiger store-in-store was established in the prestigious Harrods in 1977. By 1985, David had decided to sell his retail business and Kurt Geiger was bought by House of Fraser. Within 10 years, the brand was changing hands again, this time being bought by Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods.
Kurt Geiger expanded to Europe and the Middle East in 2007 and entered the US market in 2014. Today, the store sells a range of shoes, clothing, bags and other accessories from more than 70 stores around the world. The company has a further 170 concessions in luxury departments stores. Kurt Geiger is owned by Cinven, a global private equity firm, that bought it for £245-million in December 2015. South Africa has 34 standalone Kurt Geiger stores specialising in the full men’s range, while the women’s shoe range, launched recently in the local market, can be found in select Spitz stores. The brand’s local distributor and license-holder is AVI Limited.
Kurt Geiger’s celebrity fans include Benedict Cumberbatch, Reese Witherspoon and Emily Blunt, among others.