World’s oldest barber Truefitt and Hill keen to set up shop in Lanka
Friday, 23 January 2015 00:01
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Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron and Frank Sinatra’s favourite barbershop now wants to groom Sri Lankan men.
The world’s oldest barbershop (as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records), the over 200-year-old Truefitt and Hill, that has been frequented by Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcockand Laurence Olivier, now wants to enter the Sri Lanka market and set up shops across the country.
Truefitt operates outlets in Beijing, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Mumbai in Asia and is keen to be part of Sri Lanka›s luxury goods market. It is presently looking for partners in Sri Lanka to spread its business.
Established in 1805, the shop is a royal warrant holder making it the favourite barbershop for Britain›s royal family for over 200 years. Records show that those included amongst its clientele is almost all male members of the British Royal family since George III.
It is a royal warrant holder and has attended to the men in the royal family of Britain for nine consecutive reigns. Truefitt is listed in the Guinness Book of world record as the oldest surviving barbershop.
A barber from Truefitt and Hill still visits the Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace regularly to groom the Duke of Edinburgh while the young princes visit its St James street shop.
When artefacts of the RMS Titanic were recovered from the sea bed, among them was a Truefitt ceramic pomade pot. The findings from that dig have been exhibited in the flagship barber store at St James Street.
Several products made by Truefitt and Hill were recovered from the ocean bed when Titanic sunk. The best part is that the jars of cream, oil and cosmetics were all in terrific condition as they were trapped in a cabin which didn›t open to let the water enter it. They are now exhibited outside the shop.
