LUXURY fashion house Chanel yesterday acquired the Borders-based Barrie Knitwear cashmere business, securing the jobs of all 176 workers.
Barrie, which supplies the privately-owned French firm with its signature two-toned cashmere cardigans, will continue to supply other luxury brands and retailers on a non-exclusive basis, currently thought to include the Jermyn Street tailor Turnbull & Asser and US department store giant Nordstrom.
Managing director Jim Carrie and sales director Clive Brown will continue to run the business. Terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
It is thought Chanel is the company’s biggest customer, making up about 60 per cent of its sales. It owed Barrie’s parent company, Dawson International, about £800,000 when it collapsed into administration in August following a massive shortfall in its pension fund.
Chanel stepped into the breach after talks with a previous buyer collapsed last month. It is owned by the reclusive billionaire brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, the grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, an early business partner of the company’s inimitable founder, Coco Chanel.
Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s fashion president, said: “The acquisition of Barrie business by Chanel is all the more natural as the factory has worked with us for more than 25 years, producing cashmere knitwear including Chanel’s iconic two-tone cashmere cardigans.
“Through this acquisition, we reaffirm our commitment to traditional expertise and craftsmanship, and our wish to safeguard their future and support their development.”
Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring at KPMG in Scotland and joint administrator of Dawson International, said: “With the sale to Chanel, we believe we have secured a sustainable future for a business which is of both historical significance to the textile industry and of local importance as a major employer in the Scottish Borders.”
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Scotland has a proud history of producing luxury cashmere for use in the world’s top fashion houses. I am delighted that the future of one of Scotland’s leading textile manufacturers and around 170 employees has been secured by Chanel.
“Scotland’s cashmere industry employs approximately 4,000 people and contributes almost £200 million to the economy. This acquisition reinforces Scotland’s position as one of the world’s leading spinners of quality cashmere yarn and strengthens Scotland’s global reputation as a leader in luxury fabrics, cashmere knitwear and designer brands.”
Unions were also jubilant as a result of the deal. Alex McLuckie, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said the union “always felt confident that this highly-skilled, productive and fairly loyal workforce – which produces a high-quality product – would be saved”.
It is understood that most of the proceeds of the sale will be paid to creditors, the largest of which is the Dawson International pension fund, which called in a £129m debt that resulted in the company’s former directors calling in the administrators.
A spokesman for the Pension Protection Fund, which is set to take over the Dawson pension fund’s liabilities, said: “If the scheme gets something, that’s good.”
John Lamont, the Scottish Conservative MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire said: “This is fantastic news and will come as a great relief to all the employees at Barrie Knitwear.”