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What a gem

July 31, 2012

Bond Street in London’s West End is awash with bunting. Hung from one side of the street to the other, Union Jacks are blowing in a gentle breeze. This is London’s year – and Bond Street, famed the world over for its high-end stores, is in a celebratory mood. So too is family business Boodles.

Sweet success

July 24, 2012

Ask anyone what products they associate Switzerland with and they would probably mention cuckoo clocks, Swiss army knives and watches, but also chocolate. Indeed, some of the best chocolate in the world.

The country produces some 175,000 tonnes of the sweet stuff, and standing at the top of this chocolate mountain, as big as any Swiss alp, in terms of quality is the 175-year-old family business Confiserie Spruengli.

Fashion rules

July 12, 2012

Ferragamo is one of the world’s most iconic fashion brands. It’s also one of Italy’s greatest family businesses. CampdenFB speaks to Ferruccio Ferragamo about the family, the business and the luxury market.

French lessons: The family business world according to Ernest-Antoine Seilliere

June 14, 2012

The story of French investment group Wendel is as good as any case study of a family business converting to an investment group. CampdenFB speaks to Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, the group’s charismatic chairman.

Ernest-Antoine Seilliere doesn’t like rogue family shareholders. In fact, the chairman of Wendel, one of France’s pre-eminent investment groups, was so incensed about the issue that he wrote a book about it.

Infographic: Brazilian family businesses

June 6, 2012

Brazil’s family business sector is largely composed of small-sized firms – only 15% of the country’s family businesses are large. But this is likely to change as rapid growth, despite a slowdown in 2011, has made Brazil’s economy bigger than the UK’s. CampdenFB takes a look at some of the leading Brazilian family businesses in an interactive graphic.

Brazil’s family business sector is largely composed of small-sized firms – only 15% of the country’s family businesses are large, according to consulting firm DS Consultoria Empresarial e Educacional. But this is likely to change as rapid growth, despite a slowdown in 2011, has made Brazil’s economy bigger than the UK’s. CampdenFB takes a look at some of the leading Brazilian family businesses in an interactive graphic below.

Deep pile

May 31, 2012

Nicolas Bouckaert is the head of his family’s carpet-making business, Beaulieu of America. But that hasn’t stopped him being an entrepreneur.

I wanted an opportunity to get some outside experience – get my feet wet really – before jumping into the family business. It is more valuable to learn by doing things on your own. You will make mistakes, sure, but you learn from them – it is just a different type of learning that you may not get by going directly into the family company.

Top 100 family businesses in Europe

May 29, 2012

CampdenFB has produced a detailed list of the top 100 family businesses in Europe, which shows just how crucial these companies are to the region's economy. Their combined revenues make up nearly 14% of the European Union’s GDP.

The importance of family businesses to the European economy cannot by underestimated. They are essential to growth and employment creation throughout the world’s biggest economic area. CampdenFB has produced a list of the top 100 family businesses in the region, which shows just how crucial these businesses are to Europe’s economy. Their combined revenues have reached more than €1.8 trillion in 2011, that’s nearly 14% of the European Union’s GDP.

Never give up: Lessons Marilyn Carlson Nelson’s father taught her

May 24, 2012

If there has ever been a story of perseverance and determination in a family business then it must be that of Marilyn Carlson Nelson. CampdenFB reports on a remarkable story.

David de Rothschild: Banking on family ties

May 16, 2012

Is there any greater family business dynasty than the Rothschilds? CampdenFB speaks to Baron David de Rothschild, the head of Rothschild Group.

Baron David de Rothschild, the chairman of Rothschild Group, recounts a story when entering New York 10 years ago. “As I passed through immigration and showed my passport the official asked me if I was from the great wine family,” he says. “I said yes, and then he asked me why I was visiting. I told him it was to see our bank here—and he looked perplexed.” The immigration official had never heard of Rothschild the bank.

Beer in the blood

March 15, 2012

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," said Benjamin Franklin. Why do family businesses do so well in the brewing sector? CampdenFB finds out.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” said Benjamin Franklin. Leaving aside the theology, the cold, hard figures suggest that the age-old mixture of water, barley, yeast and hops does indeed put a smile on faces the world over. Global beer consumption has increased 3% a year over the past decade.