Johnstons of Elgin new guest experience

High-end Scottish cashmere brand has tuned into the ‘experiences’ playbook with the official opening of a new guest area at its flagship Elgin retail store.

The “versatile” space will be used for personal shopping and styling as well as a reception area for the brand’s immersive ‘Archive Mill Experience’, we’re told.

George McNeil, Managing Director of Retail, said: “This newly created space moves [us] into the sphere of luxury guest experiences, offering a unique immersive interaction that explores our brand’s journey and values. Visitors can travel through our rich history, witness our present-day manufacturing capabilities first-hand, and finish with an exclusive personal shopping space.”

And to reflect the brand’s “heritage and commitment to quality craftsmanship”, the retailer asked Scottish artisan Keith Coghill to create bespoke wood furniture for the new suite and Ayrshire-based experts, Turnberry Rug Works, to utilise redundant yarn to make Cashmere and Wool blend rugs for the project.

The still-family-owned retailer has two centuries of that heritage of transforming raw cashmere and Merino wool fibres into yarn and then finished products in its own Scottish mills, employing 1,200 people across both of its manufacturing sites.

It also remains a Royal Warrant holder, awarded when King Charleshe was Prince of Wales, for the supply of Estate Tweeds. Tweed forms a significant part of the brand’s heritage, and tweed designs continue to feature in its contemporary collections.

Last performance figures available for the retailer for 2022 showed the business recording turnover rising to £83.5 million from £66.3 million on the previous year, but pre-tax profit fell to £3.26 million from £3.88 million. However, net profit at the time did rise to £2.38 million from £1.82 million.