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Fife country clothing firm weathers Brexit storm

Premises of clothing firm Fife Country.
Premises of clothing firm Fife Country.

A Fife country clothing firm has hailed a “strong performance” against a backdrop of consumer uncertainty and a number of business failures

Hoggs of Fife and its sub-brand Fife Country provide country clothing and workwear, distributing to the UK retail trade sector and direct retailing via home shopping catalogues, internet sales and shop premises.

The firm saw a slight fall in turnover of 3.1%, from £8.3 million in 2018, t0 £8.1m for the year ending May 31 2019.

Pre-tax profit for period was £1.1m for the firm which employed an average monthly staff of 55.

Wages and associated costs for the period fell from £1.35m in 2018, to £1.31m last year, a fall of 2.9%.

Company secretary, John Lamond said pointed to proactive product development and strong relationships for the company’s results.

He said: “Sales of £8.1m were slightly less than the prior year but in a retail market that has struggled with the consumer uncertainty caused by Brexit and seen a number of business failures in 2018/19, we view this as a strong performance.

“Net operating profit of £772,000, an improvement of £50,000 on the prior year was underpinned by proactive product development, strong relationships with suppliers and taking advantage of spikes in the strength of Sterling to secure best quality and price of items in an ever increasing complex and competitive market.”

Founded in 1888 and still in family ownership, Hoggs started out posting boots to customers and is believed to be Scotland’s oldest surviving mail order business.

Customers include agricultural workers and outdoor pursuit enthusiasts.

Looking to the future, Mr Lamond said: “Confirmation that the UK is to leave the EU, combined with no detail about how this is to happen, the threat of interest rate rises and increasing consumer debt levels continue to generate a lack of confidence in the UK economy, affecting trade in both a business to business and business to customer context.

“Continued pressure on high street retailing and the ongoing move to remote selling provides both risks and opportunities to the business.”

Mr Lamond added that competitive pressure remains a continuing challenge for the company.

However, he said the firm sought to meet the challenges by providing high-quality products and prompt response times to its customers and maintaining strong customer relationships.

jimillar@thecourier.co.uk