Cashmere manufacturer and retailer Johnstons of Elgin is expecting sales to reach pre-pandemic levels this year.
The family-owned company said the outlook for 2002 was good and it was on track for a return to the kind of trade it was enjoying before Covid-19.
New chief executive Chris Gaffney added the future was “positive” and the firm expected to continue to recruit staff and invest in extra capacity in the coming years.
He was speaking after Johnstons, established in 1797 on the banks of the River Lossie, revealed a return to the black in 2021.
The firm is heading towards its 225th anniversary later this year after posting annual pre-tax profits of £3.9 million, compared with losses of nearly £4.4m in 2020 as Covid impacted key markets. Sales in the latest period were up by 28% year-on-year, at £66.4m.
Johnstons said demand improved progressively last year and it started 2022 with employee numbers at a similar level to before the pandemic in 2019. Total headcount currently stands at around 1,000 people.
The four times Queen’s Award winner added: “The outlook for 2022 is good, with sales expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels, though there are some headwinds in terms of cost inflation that will start to filter though in the latter part of the year and into 2023.
Mr Gaffney, who took up the reins as CEO last November after Simon Cotton stepped down, said: “2021 was a year of recovery for Johnstons and we are pleased to have bounced back so strongly.
“The skill of our craftspeople and the creativity of our design team, allows us to manufacture beautiful products that live for a long time in our customers wardrobes, whilst our use of natural fibres and control of our supply chain, through our mills in Scotland, enables us to better manage our environmental and social footprint.
“This combination makes us a strong partner for the luxury brands we work with and an engaging consumer brand in our own right. The future is, therefore, positive, and we expect to continue to recruit staff and invest in additional capacity in the coming years.”
The 225th anniversary will be marked in October at the company’s two Scottish mills in Elgin and Hawick.
Johnstons is the UK’s largest independent producer of cashmere and fine woollens. It works closely with Mongolian goat herders who supply the cashmere fibre it uses in a range of luxury goods, such as scarves and jumpers.
Its retail business includes visitor centres at the mills, a shop in St Andrews, online store and flagship outlets at 77 New Bond Street, London and 11 Multrees Walk, Edinburgh. Last year the company opened two new outlets at Kildare in Ireland and Gretna in the south of Scotland.
Royal warrant holder
As well as its four prestigious Queen’s Awards, won in 1978, 1994, 2002 and 2021, the company boasts a royal warrant.
Mr Cotton led the firm for eight years before leaving to “pursue new opportunities“. He is due to join the board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise next April.
He was previously a member of the enterprise and skills strategic board for Scotland and helped found the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, promoting sustainable farming in China and Mongolia.
Conversation