Vyacheslav Kuzmichov

Vyacheslav Kuzmichov was the son of the entrepreneur Pavel Kuzmichov (1840-1908). He had founded the tea company “Kuzmichov and Sons” with the international brand “Kusmi Tea” owning more than 10 tea houses. They were also suppliers to the Imperial court. In 1907 his father sent Vyacheslav to study tea in London, where he opened a British branch. But since Russian teas were not very successful in Britain, he developed a number of new brands including “Windsor” and “Victoria”. After his father died in 1908, Vyacheslav ran the family business, comprising 51 tea factories in major Russian cities.

He became a member of the Imperial River Yacht Club in 1900. In 1911, he bought the yacht Norman in England, designed by the British yacht designer William Fife. At the 1912 Olympics, he competed with this yacht in the 8 metres class as the helmsman placing fourth and fifth in the two races.

During World War I, Kuzmichov transferred the company’s capital to London in 1916 and opened the Maison Kusmi-Thé tea shop in Paris in the following year. While he already lived in France during the war, he arranged for the escape of his family during the Civil War, first to Istanbul (then Constantinople) and in 1920 to Paris. He continued to develop his business opening representative offices in New York, Hamburg and Istanbul. Later, the core part of the business moved to Berlin. Buring during World War II, the business diminished considerably. With his wife, Vera Sergeevna he raised three children. His son Konstantin had to sell the almost bankrupt company in 1972.