The luxury Scottish cashmere manufacturer, Johnstons of Elgin, has announced the temporary closure of its stores nationwide, effective from today Friday 20 March 2020 to try to help curb the spread of COVID-19. This includes the shop on Multrees Walk
The company has five stores in the UK employing 110 staff, with a presence in Edinburgh, London and St Andrews as well as shops and coffee shops in its Hawick and Elgin mills, which will also close over this period.
Chief Executive, Johnstons of Elgin CEO, Simon Cotton, said: “It is with the health of both our customers and staff in mind that we have decided to close our stores with immediate effect. We will of course, let everyone know when they re-open. This is a difficult time that we all find ourselves in and we want to keep our customers and our community aware of our plans.”
Established in 1797 Johnstons of Elgin is one of the last remaining vertical mills in the UK still carrying out all the processes from raw cashmere and fine woollen fibres right through to the finished product.
Cotton continued: “Our family-owned business has overcome many difficulties in its 222-year history. We will do so again by remaining focused on what is most important to us, our employees, customers and communities. We want to thank our amazing retail staff for their dedication and look forward to reopening with them as soon as possible. They are a wonderful team.
“We also want to thank all of our customers for being so loyal in supporting us in this difficult time. We very much look forward to seeing them again as soon as possible.”
Mill production will continue, and Johnstons of Elgin has put in place robust new procedures to reduce the risk of infection being spread between employees.
Most of the firm’s production is currently for the Autumn / Winter season and it is anticipated that trade customers will be preparing for a strong recovery later in the year.
Cotton concluded: “Although we are seeing significant impact on Spring/Summer, our future order book is still strong and, because we make everything from fibre to finished products, we are not being affected by disruption to supply chains.”
The firm’s online store johnstonsofelgin.com will be supplying customers as usual while the stores are shut.
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