Celtic and Co. reports international sales boom

Cornish fashion brand Celtic and Co., which sell luxury products made from all-natural fibres, has reported a ten-fold increase in profits during their last financial year due to its what it is calling an “international sales boom”.

The fashion and lifestyle label, which sells sheepskin boots and slippers, as well as knitwear, jackets and gilets for men, women and kids, and homeware pieces such as rugs and throws, sells through mail order alongside their UK, US, Canadian and Australian websites, shipping to 80 countries across the globe.

In its financial results it revealed that international trade has increased by an average of 238 percent per year over the last three years, and that international business now accounts for more than 20 percent of its turnover, up from just 1 percent three years ago.

Co-founder of Celtic and Co., Nick Whitworth said in a statement: “Since 2014, our strategy has focused on profitable growth to protect the business in the long term by building up our equity.

“Based on learnings of previous years, we now focus on a wide range of markets and opportunities to ensure we are not over reliant on one market or territory. A key part of this strategy is international growth. We are now targeting a 25 percent increase in sales and increased profitability over the next year.”

Cornish fashion brand Celtic and Co. reports international trade up 239 percent

Additionally, over the last year, Celtic and Co. has seen a restructuring of its marketing activity to improve the focus towards a more sustainable approach. When launching into Australia in 2017 with their dedicated website, Celtic and Co. did so completely paper-free, without a single catalogue or flyer drop.

Zoe Bray, head of marketing explains: “Last year we introduced a sustainability scheme of cutting down our paper costs by producing smaller catalogues and increasing our digital presence, in line with the changing way the majority of our customers prefer to shop.

“This reduced our marketing spend by 25 percent year-on-year and enabled us to reinvest in other new exciting projects, which will help us further improve our offering to customers in all corners of the globe.”

Nick and Kath Whitworth have been running Celtic and Co. for 28 years in their hometown of Newquay in Cornwall, and the fashion and lifestyle brand has become known for creating contemporary pieces using natural fibres – as well as its heritage and expertise in crafting sheepskin.

In May 2018, the Cornish brand was presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade, one of the most prestigious business awards in the country, recognising the brand’s strength oversees.

Commenting on the win, Nick Whitworth said on the brand’s website: “All of us here at Celtic and Co. are so immensely proud of this achievement and I thank everybody involved in this team effort. Receiving this Queen’s Award has to be one of our most memorable experiences since we started so long ago back in 1990.

“To receive one of the most prestigious business awards in Great Britain could only be achieved not just by all of us here at Celtic and Co., but also because of all the contributions from our suppliers and of course all of our customers.”

Images: courtesy of Celtic and Co.