Houlden gives thanks to its founding fathers
Stuart Laing and Peter Lunn, founding directors of luxury buying group Houlden, were given special recognition at last night’s ‘Leaders in Luxury: Fifty Years Forward’ event.
With watch and jewellery suppliers and retailers from across the UK and Ireland gathered at the Fairmont hotel in Windsor, Houlden veterans mixed with fresh faces for an evening of celebration.
Peter Lunn of Lunn’s Jewellers in Belfast and Stuart Laing of Laings came onto the stage and spoke about how they saw an opportunity 50 years ago to create a consortium of independent jewellers to help bolster buying power and create a brains trust among peers.
Since that moment, Houlden has gone from strength to strength, and is now firmly established as the UK’s premier high-end buying group in the watch and jewellery industry.
Additionally, Stuart Laing chose to give a special award to Houlden’s previous CEO, Helen Haddow, who he had worked alongside for decades at the group. Although she couldn’t attend, she sent a heartfelt message of thanks for her holiday in Portugal, which was displayed on the big screens.
