UKFT member John Smedley is launching a new series of digital activities in mainland China this year, to build on its international success in Europe, North America, the Gulf, Singapore, and especially Japan, its single biggest export market.

Since 1784, British knitwear manufacturer John Smedley has been synonymous with quality fabrics. Nearly two-and-a-half centuries later, and still based in the same old “mill” buildings in the small village of Lea, near Matlock in Derbyshire where all its garments are manufactured and hand-finished, the brand is going from strength to strength.

It was in the 1960’s that John Smedley’s name really began to gain an international reputation, with stars such as Audrey Hepburn being photographed in Smedley’s cool “Catkin” roll-neck sweaters, and Sean Connery wearing a sky-blue “Adrian” polo-shirt in the classic 1962 Bond film Dr No.  Queen Elizabeth II even paid a visit to the brand’s headquarters, and John Smedley was later awarded two “Royal Warrants”, marks of recognition for those specially selected companies who are suppliers to the Royal Households, thereby solidifying its place in the pantheon of luxury makers.

John Smedley pushes forward this month in China, sharing exclusive product news and style tips through its official accounts on WeChat, Little Red Book and Weibo, and also launching an e-commerce mini program shop on WeChat, so customers can buy via China’s #1 app, thereby making the brand’s luxury merino wool and John Smedley’s sea-island cotton knitwear more accessible to China’s appreciating style-lovers

John Smedley has such a strong fan-base among designers that several of them, including Japanese streetwear legend Hiroshi Fujiwara and British brand Lou Dalton, have collaborated with the brand, infusing Smedley’s classic designs with a frisson of edginess.

The fact that John Smedley knitwear appeals to such a wide range of people – from Queen Elizabeth and Sean Connery to Scarlett Johannsson and Fujiwara – is surely a testament to its quality and timelessness.  In recent years the brand has also found legions of new fans in Asia, with 5 flagship stores in Japan alone, making it John Smedley’s top export market.

“We are hugely excited to be launching the John Smedley brand in mainland China on key digital channels, to reach such a huge potential audience,” said Jess Mcguire-Dudley, Deputy Managing Director. “Based on the success we have seen in Japan; we believe China will be a key market for John Smedley going forward.”

John Smedley Ltd is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in the world, producing fine gauge knitwear from their Lea Mills, Derbyshire factory since 1784. Crafted from the finest noble fibres of Extra fine Merino Wool, John Smedley’s Sea Island Cotton and other luxury blends.

The company’s menswear and womenswear ranges are available worldwide via their stand-alone retail stores in the St James’s, Mayfair and Marylebone of London, and the Tokyo, Yokohama and Kyoto areas of Japan. The full collection can be seen at johnsmedley.com. Exports are made to over 47 countries worldwide via international wholesale partners such as Mr Porter, Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Isetan, Beams, Dover Street Market and many more.

VISIT THE JOHN SMEDLEY WEBSITE

John Smedley is a UKFT member. Interested in UKFT membership? Find out more here.