Bates Hats no longer British Made

[Zeropositive]

Bates Hats under threat of closure...

I normally lurk, reading all the articles on this great forum, but seeing the hat shop I like is threaten with closure... anyone of you guys buy from Bates... they got great hats and u can write to the local council even if you are an overseas customer....

Cheers Jules

http://www.bates-hats.co.uk/

THREAT OF CLOSURE
PLEASE HELP


Our landlords are proposing to develop the site in which we are located, please help us to fight this by lodging your objections to:- Steve Brandon
Development Planning Services
Department of Planning + City Development,
Westminster City Hall,
64, Victoria St,
London,
SW1E 6QP

or www.westminster.gov.uk/planning/ Please quote Ref no 09/01102/Full
and your name + address on all objections

Thank you for your support

 

[Charlie Huang]

This is old news dear boy! We know of it.

I haven't been in Bates yet but plan to go this month.

 

[Zeropositive]

alrite I am rubbish... I did a search but I didn't get any hits... sorry people...

 

[immortaldiamond]

alrite I am rubbish... I did a search but I didn't get any hits... sorry people...

Hi Zeropositive, I live in London and have been into Bates many times and knew nothing of this - so thanks for the tip. They told me only a month ago that business was better than ever - more hats sold in January 2009 than in the whole of 2008. So this is a great shame. Hornet's is a good alternative - cheaper and, I believe, basically the same hats.
Cheers ... ID

 

[Neil]

Great caps

I have one of their tweed flat caps. Ordered it over the phone, totally satisfied. Hope they remain online and ready to answer calls.

 

[besdor]

When I visited Bates Hats some time ago , it was like walking into the past. It is a small store with a lot of beatiful hats. All of the hat stores are within walking distance to each other . There are probably two are three left in London.
What a shame !!!



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[billyspew]

When I visited Bates Hats some time ago , it was like walking into the past. It is a small store with a lot of beatiful hats. All of the hat stores are within walking distance to each other . There are probably two are three left in London.
What a shame !!!

From what I've heard they based the wand maker's shop in the Harry Potter films on the shop.

It is a wonderful place, I bought my first hat there.

 

[daizawaguy]

Just seen they are part of Hilditch and Key now. A great save.

 

[zetwal]

What a shame !!!

Yes, it is a shame.

 

[DNO]

My favourite hat is a Bates (wore it today). The texture and comfortable fit put most of my other hats to shame. I understand they moved down the street...to number 71 or so.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Shite!

News to me, brother. It would be a crime to see that happen. I shall write my MP at once...oh, nevermind. I will write w/ my strident objections, however.

Where is Mr. Binks to go, I ask? [huh]

edit: ...oh, er... well, good to see a happy outcome!

 

[pipvh]

They have a flash new website, with Mr Binks as the stuffed-cat-in-chief: http://www.bates-hats.co.uk/

Hope they haven't gone too mainstream. My Bates 8-panel cap is the best cap I've ever owned and needs replacing.

 

[AntonAAK]

It's about time. Their website used to be dreadful. They seem to be doing well at Hilditch and Key. I bought a boater from there last summer and the shop was busy and the service excellent.

 

[Orangehaggis]

I received this very disappointing reply from Bates Hatters:

Our homburgs are made of a finely compressed rabbit fur, and in order to get the highest quality the materials and process are all Spanish. Of course we would love for our hats to be British made, but unfortunately the quality just cannot be found in the UK. Each of our suppliers produce hats to our own exacting standards and specifications, ensuring that any of our bates hats are of the highest quality.


I suppose I wouldn't mind this so much if they clearly stated country of origin on the website. Nothing is quite what it once was...

Orangehaggis

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Spanish as in Spain or Latin America? Do you believe their reasoning for this or do you think there were other sinister motives?

 

[Orangehaggis]

I'm sure it's 'Spanish' as in 'Spain.' I have reservations about believing Bates' reasoning simply because they don't clearly state country of origin on the website. I would think it's likely down to economic concerns. As far as I know, Lock and Co still make their classic hats in the UK, and they've got Royal Warrants! If British made hats are good enough for the Royal Family, the quality can't be sub par.

Orangehaggis

 

[TheDane]

I would be surprised, if the felt is of British origin. I would guess Czech or Portuguese(?)

 

[ManofKent]

There are no UK fur-felt producers (or at least not any that make to any volume). Most of the hats Bates, Lock & Co etc. sell are re-branded Tonaks, but some are from other sources. Lock & Co's bowlers are made by Christy's (in the UK) but I believe the felt is Spanish or Portuguese. Most of Christy's hats are supposedly made in England, but whether that's just blocking I don't know, again the felts come from Europe. The boaters that both Bates and Lock & Co are still made in the UK (Olney in Luton), and we've still got several cap makers. The only felt hats fully produced in any volume in the UK are wool felt. Olney's fur felt hats are re-branded Tonaks.

To be fair the quality of some of the Tonaks are pretty good, and Christy's current bowlers aren't bad either.

The one thing to remember is that neither Bates nor Lock & co. have ever made their own hats - they've always bought them from hat manufacturers.

 

[TheDane]

I bought some caps from the Langenberg/BB sell-out. Among them were a couple of City Sport caps. City Sport caps are allegedly made in Belgium, but these were obviously made in US. In one of them a small booklet told about the fantastic "European Quality Linen", but nowhere a single hint about "Made in USA". Those things are hard to know anything certain about in a globalized World

 

[Edward]

Quite. I'd be more surprised if they claimed to have "all-British-made" hats. That industry - along with many other manufacturing industries - is gone from the UK now, and unlikely to return outside of very niche custom hatters (even then, it won't be British-made felt). I've got no real issue with this, but my primary concerns with any product have never been tied up in location of manufacture. As to Royal Warrants, all those mean is that some product or service has been purchased for the use of either royal persons or persons within the royal court - i.e. their employees - by the company advertising the warrant. It's no different than a sign saying "Elvis shopped here", and no more nor less a guarantee of quality. Unlike the woolmark, or a geographic trade mark (Champagne, for instance), it gives no information about the product itself.