LONDON — Connolly, the London fashion and luxury accessories retailer owned by Joseph Ettedgui, has shut its doors.
The store, whose interiors were designed by Andrée Putman, has been taken over by the Westbury Hotel. A Westbury spokesman declined to comment on the future of the space at 41 Conduit Street, but he denied speculation the hotel is planning to open a casino there.
According to the most recent filings at Companies House, the official register of U.K. businesses, Connolly Luxury Goods Ltd. is listed as a dormant, or nontrading, company. The firm’s Web site is still operating, although the company’s phone has been disconnected and Connolly principals could not be reached for comment Monday.
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Ettedgui, whom sources say is ill, opened the Conduit Street store in 1999 after initially opening a unit in Knightsbridge. Ettedgui had bought the fashion side of the business from the Connolly family, which supplied luxury leather upholstery to clients including Queen Elizabeth II, the Houses of Parliament, Rolls-Royce and Renault. The brand quickly became known for its high-quality leather goods for women and men, guidebooks, cashmere knitwear, outerwear and home goods, many of which were designed by Ettedgui’s wife, Isi, who was creative director of the brand.
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Ettedgui is the founder of Joseph, one of the U.K.’s leading designer label retailers, which was sold to Onward Kashiyama for $258 million in 2005. After the sale, Joseph and his brother Franklin together walked away with about $37 million. Joseph Ettedgui stepped down as chairman of Joseph in late 2005 to focus exclusively on Connolly.
“I’ve been doing retailing for a long time, and the Connolly type of luxury is what interests me now,” Ettedgui told WWD in 1999. “I think that is what fashion is about today — beautiful things, very understated.”