W.D. & H.O. Wills

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = W.D. & H.O. Wills
company_logo =
slogan =
fate =
successor = Imperial Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, now ITC Limited
foundation = 1786
defunct = 1988 (Seal still used in other brands)
location = Bristol
industry = Tobacco importer and cigarette manufacturer
key_people = Henry Overton Wills, William Henry Wills
products = Woodbine, Embassy
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =

W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British Tobacco importer and cigarette manufacturer formed in Bristol, England. It was one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco.

History

The company was founded as Wills, Watkins & Co. by Henry Overton Wills I and his partner Watkins, who opened a shop in Castle Street, Bristol in 1786. After the retirement of his partner in 1789 it became “Wills & Co.”. In 1826 his two sons, William Day Wills and Henry Overton Wills II took over the company and in 1830 the company took the above name.

The company pioneered canteens for the workers, free medical care, sports facilities and paid holidays. Their first brand was “Bristol”, made at the London factory from 1871 to 1974. “Three Castles” and “Gold Flake” followed in 1878 and “Woodbine” ten years later. “Embassy” was introduced in 1914 and relaunched in 1962 with coupons.

The company had factories and offices not only in Bristol, but also in Swindon, Dublin, Newcastle and Glasgow. The largest cigarette factory in Europe was opened at Hartcliffe Bristol, and was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill , in 1974 but closed in 1990. Now called Lake Shore, it is currently undergoing a transformation into residential apartments by Urban Splash. The large factory and warehouse buildings remain prominent buildings in Bristol, although much of the existing land and buildings have been converted to other uses, such as The Tobacco Factory Theatre. The Newcastle factory closed in 1986 and stood derelict for over a decade, before the front of the Art Deco building - which was preserved by being Grade II listed - reopened as a block of luxury apartments in 1998. (See main article: Wills Building)

In 1901 Sir William Henry Wills "et al" formed the Imperial Tobacco company from a merger of W.D. & H.O. Wills with seven other British tobacco companies. Imperial remains one of the world's largest tobacco companies.

The last member of the Wills family to serve the company was Christopher, the great great grandson of H.O. Wills I. He retired as sales research manager in 1969.

In 1988 Imperial Tobacco withdrew the Wills brand in the United Kingdom (except for the popular Woodbine and Capstan Full Strength brands, which still carry the name).

Notable products

In 1959 the company launched the short-lived Strand brand. This was accompanied by the iconic, but commercially disastrous, "You're never alone with a Strand" television advertisement. [ [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7958328_ITM "Tobacco's Finest Blend: With the ban on advertising tobacco about to come into force ..(tobacco ads reviewed for creativity)"] , Campaign, 24 January 2003]

In India, the Gold Flake and Wills range of cigarettes, manufactured by ITC, formerly the "Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited" [cite web |url = http://www.itcportal.com/sets/itc_frameset_new.htm | title = History and Evolution of ITC Limited | publisher = ITC Limited | accessdate = 2007-09-23] , still has W.D. & H.O. Wills printed on the cigarettes and their packaging. These lines of cigarettes have a dominant market share.

External links

* [http://www.imperial-tobacco.com/index.asp?pageid=24&subsection=major_businesses Official site]
* [http://www.davenapier.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/wills/wdhowill.htm W.D. & H.O. Wills - "Pacemakers in Tobacco"]
* [http://www.urbansplash.co.uk/lakeshore/ Urban Spash - Lake Shore]

References