Orders for Harris Tweed have jumped by 25% as the fabric’s leading producer heads to Italy to court even more new business next week.
Harris Tweed Hebrides said yesterday that it has a “a very strong platform for 2014” following a surge in orders at the end of last year.
The Shawbost-based company – which was named UK Textile Company of the Year in 2013 as well as Scotland’s Fashion Ambassador of the Year – accounts for around 90% of Harris Tweed production.
Chief executive Ian Angus MacKenzie said: “We saw a big surge in orders late in the year which means that we now have a very strong platform for 2014. We start from a better position than last year, which was itself good.
“In the past, the ordering season did not really begin until into the new year but we have managed to get the message across that ordering early is the best way of ensuring demand can be met.
“It is good news for the weavers as we are now able to provide them with year-round work. The early months of 2014 are going to be extremely busy”.
Meanwhile the company will continue its international marketing campaign with a presence at two major events in January. Chairman Brian Wilson and creative director Mark Hogarth are attending Pitti Uomo, the world’s major menswear show, in Florence this week while marketing director, Margaret MacLeod, is heading for Paris later in the month for Maison et Objet, the leading interiors and accessories show.
Mr Wilson, a former UK Trade Minister, said: “It is essential to keep opening up new markets and to work with existing clients, many of whom attend Pitti Uomo from all over the world. It is the first indicator of how they plan to use Harris Tweed in the year ahead, and an opportunity to discuss how we might work with them.
“Japan is still our major market but the exchange rate has moved against us there. It is a reminder of why we always need to seek diversification of both markets and sectors.”
He said that interiors had been “a major growth area last year” and there were strong indications that this would continue into 2014.
Harris Tweed Hebrides recently announced a £1million investment programme including the acquisition of ten double-width looms which are being leased to weavers in order to bring new recruits into the industry.