Dooney & Bourke

Last updated
Dooney & Bourke, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry Fashion
Founded1975;49 years ago (1975) in Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.
Founder
  • Peter Dooney
  • Frederic Bourke
Headquarters1 Regent St., Norwalk, Connecticut 06855 USA
41°06′22″N73°23′58″W / 41.106248°N 73.3993482°W / 41.106248; -73.3993482
Key people
  • Peter Dooney (CEO, President, Chief Designer)
  • Rico Trevino (Executive Vice President)
  • Benjamin Hill (Vice President)
  • Jolanta Bershefsky (Art Director)
Products
Website www.dooney.com

Dooney & Bourke is an American leather goods brand founded in 1975 by designer Peter Dooney and entrepreneur Frederic Bourke in Norwalk, Connecticut. Originally a men's supplier of belts, suspenders, and ties, [1] the company now specializes in handbags and small accessories. [2] Peter Dooney has maintained his role as designer at the company throughout the brand's history. [1] Dooney's competitors include Coach and Kate Spade. [3]

Contents

History

Dooney & Bourke started in 1975 when Peter Dooney and Frederic Bourke launched their namesake in Norwalk, Connecticut. Dooney was CEO of manufacturing and marketing, while Bourke served as principle finance and investment officer. [4]

The duo started with men's leather belts and suspenders, handmade by Peter Dooney, inspired by military gear, mail pouches, and saddlebags. Dooney & Bourke debuted its first women's handbags in 1981 launch of the All-Weather Leather collection, featuring pebble-textured leather, smooth leather trim, and a tongue-and-loop closure. [2]

Dooney's merchandise is distributed in Dillard’s and Macy’s, as well as Dooney's own store in Norwalk, Connecticut. [4] In 2006, the Emma Bag, a small oval sized bag named after Emma Roberts, was created. [5] In 2007, actress Hayden Panettiere created a line of bags for Dooney, including the Hayden bag and the Chiara, a patent leather bag. [6]

Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Dooney & Bourke, Inc.

In April 2004, Louis Vuitton filed a suit against Dooney & Bourke, stating Dooney had infringed its Murakami Monogram Multicolore collection. On May 30, 2008, District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled in favor of Dooney & Bourke and dismissed the case. [7]

Conspiracy and bribery conviction of Bourke

On July 9, 2009, Frederic Bourke was found guilty by a jury and convicted of conspiracy and bribery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Travel Act in the Southern District of New York. [8] Bourke was convicted of conspiring with Czech national, Viktor Kožený, known as "Pirate of Prague," [9] to pay bribes to the ex-president and government officials of Azerbaijan. The bribery involved a 1998 scheme including the sale and purchase of the Azeri state oil company. [10]

Although Bourke did not personally bribe the government officials and lost his $8 million investment in a hedge fund managed by Kožený, Bourke was found to have known that money invested in the fund was used for bribing Azeri officials with cash and a secret two-thirds interest in the oil company. [10] After the jury verdict, Bourke was fined $1 million and sentenced to one year in prison, followed by three years of probation. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayden Panettiere</span> American actress (born 1989)

Hayden Lesley Panettiere is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series Heroes (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher horror franchise Scream (2011–2023), and Juliette Barnes in the ABC/CMT musical drama series Nashville (2012–2018). The latter earned her two nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Vuitton</span> French international fashion house

Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton, is a French luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, perfumes, watches, jewellery, accessories, sunglasses and books. Louis Vuitton is one of the world's leading international fashion houses. It sells its products through standalone boutiques, lease departments in high-end departmental stores, and through the e-commerce section of its website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign Corrupt Practices Act</span> United States federal law

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handbag</span> Handled bag used to carry personal items

A handbag, commonly known as a purse in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. It has also been called a pocketbook in parts of the U.S.

Viktor Kožený is a fugitive financier.

The State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, largely known by its abbreviation SOCAR, is a fully state-owned national oil and gas company headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan. The company produces oil and natural gas from onshore and offshore fields in the Azerbaijani segment of the Caspian Sea. It operates the country's only oil refinery, one gas processing plant and runs several oil and gas export pipelines throughout the country. It owns fuel filling station networks under the SOCAR brand in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania, Switzerland, and Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birkin bag</span> Tote bag made by Hermès

The Birkin bag is a tote bag introduced in 1984 by French luxury goods maker Hermès. Birkin bags are handmade from leather and are named after the English-French actress and singer Jane Birkin.

Stuart Vevers is a British fashion designer. He graduated from the University of Westminster in 1996. His first job was at Calvin Klein, followed by Bottega Veneta, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, where he worked with Marc Jacobs. He joined Mulberry as creative director in 2005 and was instrumental in the company's success, transforming their leather goods into the must-have bags. He has also collaborated with Luella Bartley and Designer of the Year, Giles Deacon. In 2006, he won the British Fashion Council's Accessory Designer of the Year award. In July 2007 it was announced that he had been appointed creative director of Loewe, and, on 25 June 2013, Vevers was announced to be the executive creative director at American label Coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.</span> Italian luxury fashion company

Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., doing business as Ferragamo, is an Italian luxury fashion house focused on apparel, footwear, and accessories headquartered in Florence, Italy. It specializes in designing and manufacturing footwear and leather goods, which together account for over 86% of its revenue. The remaining products include ready-to-wear, silk products, fashion accessories, and licensed eyewear, watches, and perfumes. It operates 447 mono-brand stores worldwide as of September 2022.

Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia Plesner</span> Danish painter

Nadia Plesner is a Danish painter who works and lives in Copenhagen. Plesner's work explores the disappearing boundaries between the editorial and advertising parts of mass media and often with political undertones. She trained at the Graphic Arts Institute, Copenhagen (Denmark) and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 FIFA corruption case</span> Cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with FIFA

In 2015, United States federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with the Fédération internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.

Lady Dior is a commercial name given to a handbag by the Christian Dior company in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was designed by Gianfranco Ferré in 1994 under the name Chouchou, and was later renamed as Princesse before being renamed as Lady Dior. French actress Marion Cotillard was the ambassador of Lady Dior for nine years, from 2008 to 2017, even designing her own handbag for the brand in 2012.

The Fat Leonard scandal is an ongoing investigation and prosecution of corruption within the United States Navy during the 2000s and 2010s. It has involved ship support contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a Thai subsidiary of the Glenn Marine Group. The Washington Post called the scandal "perhaps the worst national-security breach of its kind to hit the Navy since the end of the Cold War." The company's chief executive, president, and chairman, Malaysian national Leonard Glenn Francis, bribed a large number of uniformed officers of the United States Seventh Fleet with at least a half million dollars in cash, plus travel expenses, luxury items, parties and prostitutes, in return for classified material. The classified information included the movements of U.S. ships and submarines, confidential contracting information, and details about active law enforcement investigations into Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

Buffalo Billion is a New York state government project led by former Governor Andrew Cuomo that aims to invest $1 billion in the Buffalo, New York area economy. The project uses a combination of state grants and tax breaks to spur economic development. Governor Cuomo first announced the program in his 2012 "State of the State" address. The program is modeled on a similar program implemented in the Albany, New York area. A key project in the program is a $750 million SolarCity solar panel factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil Abloh</span> American fashion designer and entrepreneur (1980–2021)

Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transformed into the Milan based fashion label Off-White in 2013. Abloh was appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021. Abloh worked in Chicago street fashion, before he entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. Abloh assumed the role of creative director at Donda, West's creative agency in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coach New York</span> American fashion house

Coach New York, commonly known as Coach, is an American luxury fashion house headquartered in New York City & specialized in handbags, luggage, and accessories, as well as ready-to-wear. Coach licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and Paris-based Interparfums for fragrances. Stuart Vevers has been the executive creative director since June of 2013.

In 2019, a scandal arose over a criminal conspiracy to influence undergraduate admissions decisions at several top American universities. The investigation into the conspiracy was code named Operation Varsity Blues. The investigation and related charges were made public on March 12, 2019, by United States federal prosecutors. At least 53 people have been charged as part of the conspiracy, a number of whom pled guilty or agreed to plead guilty. Thirty-three parents of college applicants were accused of paying more than $25 million between 2011 and 2018 to William Rick Singer, organizer of the scheme, who used part of the money to fraudulently inflate entrance exam test scores and bribe college officials. Of the 32 parents named in a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, more than half had apparently paid bribes to have their children enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC).

Feeding our Future was a non-profit organization based in Minnesota.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dooney & Bourke Goes Back 42 Years". QVC. August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Minkoff, Jessica (April 6, 2016). "Dooney & Bourke Fêtes Its 40th Anniversary with a Reinvented Classic". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  3. Lynch, Matthew (July 13, 2009). "Bourke Found Guilty of Conspiracy" (PDF). Women's Wear Daily. p. 10. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Schmid, Albert (February 2, 2018). The Unlimited Sky. United States: Xlibris US. ISBN   9781543480290.
  5. "Spokesmodel Alert: Emma Roberts for Dooney & Bourke!". People Magazine. July 12, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  6. Lee, Helen (March 4, 2008). "Hayden Panettiere's new campaign for Dooney & Bourke". Sassy Bella. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  7. Covert, James (June 5, 2008). "Open & shut case: Louis Vuitton rival wins big in bag battle". The New York Post . Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  8. Johnson, Carrie (February 8, 2010). "U.S. sends a message by stepping up crackdown on foreign business bribes". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  9. "Pirate of Prague". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Glovin, David (July 11, 2009). "Executive guilty of conspiracy in foreign bribery case". Bloomberg News . Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  11. Vardi, Nathan (November 10, 2009). "Founder of Dooney & Bourke gets jail term of one year". Forbes . Retrieved February 8, 2010.