Fragrance house

Dunlop

Dunlop traces its origin to 1888 in Ireland, when John Boyd Dunlop developed a practical pneumatic tire for his son’s tricycle. The business later broadened into sports equipment: it began producing golf balls in England in 1909, tennis balls a few years later, and Japan’s first domestically produced golf and tennis balls in 1930. Sumitomo’s relationship with Dunlop’s Japanese business began with an investment in 1960, followed by management in 1963 and the renaming of the company as Sumitomo Rubber Industries. In 2017, Sumitomo’s jointly established Dunlop International Company received overseas Dunlop trademark rights and the sporting-goods and licensing businesses from Sports Direct International. In May 2025, Sumitomo Rubber completed Goodyear’s sale of further Dunlop tire trademarks and related intellectual property covering Europe, North America, and Oceania. Dunlop is now presented across tires and sports, particularly golf and tennis, alongside technological development and reliability.