Harris Tweed company eyes South Korean market

SOUTH Korea is being targeted as a new market for Harris Tweed Hebrides as the industry predicts another growth year.

The company, based in Shawbost, Lewis, accounts for over 80 per cent of Harris Tweed production and says orders are already running 25 per cent ahead of the same stage last year when work was turned down due to weaver capacity constraints.

Japan was the company’s biggest market last year, overtaking Germany for the first time.

Chairman Brian Wilson said: “We had doubts about whether demand from Japan would hold up because of economic conditions there, but no orders were cancelled.” He said South Korea is beginning to feature as a major market and the company will be making a big push there this year.

“We have a very active agent and there is a tendency for South Korean fashion to follow the lead from Japan, so we are already seeing steady growth”.

Harris Tweed Hebrides has accepted an invitation from United Kingdom Trade International to take part in a high- profile promotion of luxury goods at the British Embassy in Seoul in March.

Mr Wilson said: “Last year, we concentrated our promotional efforts on the United States, which is coming back nicely, and Brazil, Russia, India and China.”