Press Release: Celtic & Co. awarded second distinguished Queens Award in International Trade
Press Release: For immediate circulation
Celtic & Co. awarded second distinguished Queens Award in International Trade
Founders of Celtic & Co., Nick and Kath Whitworth, are thrilled to announce that Celtic & Co. has been awarded a second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, which was officially awarded on Thursday, December 17th 2020 at Celtic & Co’s HQ in Newquay by Her Majesty The Queen’s official representative in Cornwall, Lord Lieutenant Colonel Edward Thomas Bolitho.
Accompanied by Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet – Flight Sergeant Robert Libby, the Vice Chairman of Cornwall Council, Councillor Mary May and Sarah Goodall from Cornwall Council as support to the Lieutenancy, a small and socially distanced ceremony took place in the premises of Celtic & Co. in Newquay in order to deliver the award to Nick and Kath Whitworth.
Kath Whitworth, Co-Founder of Celtic & Co: “We’re excited by the potential to grow our brand internationally and are seeing a really strong response to the sustainable, British made ethos that encapsulates our products. We’re looking to grow in countries where we see established groups of consumers who are influenced by the impact their clothing has on the world around them and understand how best to reduce the environmental footprint of their clothing purchases.”
“It has been a fantastic year for our International markets with sales outside of the UK up just over 70%, well ahead of our overall business growth. Excluding our more mature US market, international sales are up over 350% with Australia, Germany and Canada all performing extremely well this year. Looking forward, we are aiming to grow these markets while we continue to launch the brand in new countries.” Says Nick Whitworth, Co-Founder of Celtic & Co.
2020 was a big year for Celtic & Co., celebrating its 30th birthday, seeing sales soar by 60 per cent and now receiving their second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade after 2018.
Based in Newquay, Cornwall, Celtic began in 1990 when Nick and Kath Whitworth decided to buy a small boot making business, with just seven pairs still in stock. They developed their iconic sheepskin boots and became the Celtic Sheepskin Company. Today, rebranded as Celtic & Co, the company is an extraordinary success story. It employs over 50 people and sells its range of products, from knitwear, footwear and coats to accessories and luggage, across the world. The brand is confident that the level of growth it saw in 2020 will continue into 2021 as more and more people discover its comfortable and timeless products.
Celtic & Co is passionate about British manufacture and is proud to continue to make its sheepskin slippers, boots, and accessories in Newquay. These home-produced items still make up over a quarter of the business and will always be at the heart of what it does. All its other pieces are sourced from as close to home as possible, with 75 per cent of all products British-made.
