Pringle suffers heavy losses

Privately owned knitwear firm Pringle has posted a loss of £8.2 million in the year ended 1 April, down from £7.7 million the year before. The Fang family, which owns the 190-year-old brand, has continued to invest in the company and would continue to do so, a spokeswoman for the company said. Sales for the year increased 2 percent to £25.7 million, although administrative and sales costs rose by more than £1 million.

Hong Kong investor Kenneth Fang bought the company from Dawson International in 2000 and has invested £15 million in the label this year alone. Despite the losses and no indication of an immediate recovery, the family - Kenneth's son Douglas is now chief executive - continues to show commitment to rebranding the label for the luxury market. It recently appointed Gucci alumnus Clare Waight Keller as creative director. "Her first (women's wear show) was received by the world's press with great critical acclaim and the second cemented the brand in the luxury sector," the company said. Pringle also plans to open more own-label stores within the next year, while also investing in distribution.

However, the picture is not as rosy as the company attempts to paint. Some experts have their doubts about Waight Keller's abilities and the consensus is that a turn-around of Pringle's fortunes will remain a long-term process. "The turnarounds at Burberry and Gucci didn't happen overnight, but the label has been under the current ownership for quite a long time, so from those figures it's disappointing there's not more evidence they're on the right track," fashion writer John Davidson told the Scotsman. The company was also forced to make a staff cut of 15 to 310, mainly on the production side. This cost it £545,000 in job-loss compensation.