Hunter steps up to give luxury sector some welly

HUNTER Boots, the Scottish upmarket welly firm bought out of administration three years ago, is understood to have appointed former Jaeger director Peter Taylor as managing director in a move to create a global luxury brand.

Sources close to the company – whose iconic green boots are worn by a host of celebrities, including Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss – say Taylor, who was previously chairman of Liberty Japan, is tasked with building the brand into global markets.

The firm, which also supplies the Royal Family, was saved in April 2006 when the former Conservative party treasurer, Lord Marland of Odstock, teamed up with Pentland, the company behind brands from Berghaus to Speedo, and Peter Mullen, the founder of shirtmaker Thomas Pink, and paid £2m for the business.

They axed around a quarter of the workforce to "ensure the long-term viability of the business". That followed on from 48 cuts at the time the business fell into administration. At the time, Hunter released a statement saying it was committed "to looking for a solution which enables Hunter boots to continue being made in Scotland and sold at a profit".

Since then the turnaround has been swift. A 2006 loss of £300,000 on sales of £4.3m has been turned into a pre-tax profits of £1.6m on revenues of £10m, and last year it reached £2m on sales of £16m.

Key to this has been growth in the US market, where sales have grown from 10% of revenues to more than 40%.

The range is also being expanded.

In March, the firm teamed up with Jimmy Choo to launch a Hunter with a moulded crocodile skin design.

Other textured moulds, replicating anything from ostrich feathers to tree bark, are also in the pipeline, while it is understood the firm is also looking at products from doormats to handbags.

Hunter was born 150 years ago when an American entrepreneur set up shop in Scotland to make rubber boots.

The firm no longer makes its boots in Scotland but it has retained its headquarters in Edinburgh. Its sales and marketing functions were recently moved from Dumfries to London in a bid to boost its standing as a fashion brand.

A spokesman for Hunter declined to comment.