Pringle of Scotland

Pringle of Scotland is a luxury knitwear manufacturer. The brand is worn by the likes of Madonna, David Beckham, Nicole Kidman, Sophie Dahl, Claudia Schiffer and British bands such as The Kooks, Dirty Pretty Things and The Twang.cite news | title=Pringle's quiet sexiness | publisher=Sloane square magazine | date=June 2007] The company has stores in London’s Bond Street, Sloane Street and Bluewater Shopping Centre as well as in Japan and Taiwan and is sold by retailers in New York and Milan.

History

Robert Pringle established Pringle of Scotland in 1815 in the Scottish borders and much of the company’s knitwear production still takes place today at their factory in Hawick. Initially the company simply produced hosiery and underwear but Pringle have been producing cashmere since as early as 1870cite book | title=Pringle of Scotland: and the Hawick Knitwear Story | author=Barty-King, H.] Otto Weisz was appointed as the first full-time designer in the knitwear industry in 1934. The twinset and the signature argyle pattern were designed under Weisz's creative direction, which became very popular with several celebrities and screen stars including Gene Simmons, Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly.

In 1967, Pringle of Scotland was acquired by "Joseph Dawson (Holdings) Limited", who were later renamed "Dawson International Plc." The company pursued an international expansion program in the early 90’s however they were forced to cut back on many stores and franchisees due to their overly rapid expansion strategy.cite news| title=The knitwear brand that stretched too far | author=Richards, A. | publisher=InMarketing | date=6 April, 1995]

Throughout the 1980’s and 90’s leisure and sportswear played a key role within the Pringle of Scotland brand with top British golf players including Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomery being sponsored by the group. In 2000 the brand was bought by Hong Kong-based S.C. Fang & Sons Company, Ltd. Despite its slightly vulnerable position, Pringle gained a fresh lease of life in the new millennium cite news | title=The lion prepares to roar | publisher=Drapers Record | date=2 April, 2001] under the leadership of newly appointed chief executive Kim Winser, formerly of Marks & Spencer, and a brand vision and strategy was put in place to re establish Pringle of Scotland as an international luxury fashion retailer.cite news | title=Winser's grand designs for the Pringle empire | author=Mills, L. | publisher=The Daily Mail | date=25 August, 2005]

Fang reportedly paid only £6 million for the ailing firm, which was losing around £4.5 million per year. The Fangs have so far invested almost £35 million in Pringle. Winser and Stockdale led the company's efforts to return to the high-fashion status it had formerly enjoyed, exhibiting at London Fashion Week with new designs based on the company's trademark twinset and Argyle pattern.cite web | url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=25751 | publisher=Vogue Online | title=Pringle designer leaves | date=May 11 2005]

In 2005, both Kim Winser and Stuart Stockdale left Pringle of Scotland and Kenneth Fang handed over control to his children, Jean and Douglas Fang.By this stage sales had risen to almost £25m with losses running at around £8m due to the expansion of retail(company accounts).cite news | publisher=The Scotsman | title=Winser to walk away from Pringle | url=http://heritage.scotsman.com/people.cfm?id=2285562005 | date=Wed 23 November 2005] cite news | url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=512822005 | title=Pringle rocked by loss of design chief | publisher=The Scotsman | date=12 May 2005 | accessdate=URL retrieved 6 November 2006] Clare Wright Keller was appointed the new Creative Director.cite news | publisher=Vogue.com | title=Is Pringle the new Gucci? | url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=27843 | date=July 28 2005]

External links

* [http://www.pringlescotland.com/ Company website]

References