Hawke’s Bay-based clothing brand Kilt putting employees out of work just a month before Christmas

Fashion retailer Kilt has been a fixture on Hastings St, Napier, and its retail shop will remain open. Photo / Duncan Brown

A Napier-based clothing company that was once Hawke’s Bay’s business of the year has confirmed it is shutting down a key part of its local operations.

While its 18 retail stores around the country remain open, the Onekawa-based Kilt clothing company has confirmed it has made the decision to close the doors on a Napier factory called Made It Here this month.

“We can confirm that Kilt has made a decision to close its Napier-based manufacturing company Made It Here,” business manager Lauren Hart said.

“Our mission here at Kilt continues to be to provide the ultimate experience by helping Kilties feel amazing, with the best New Zealand-made clothing at affordable prices, while impacting less on the environment. Delivering on this remains our priority focus.”

Back in 2014, Kilt Clothing production manager Cushla Sampson showed then-Prime Minister Sir John Key how to operate the sewing machine. Photo / Warren Buckland

The brand prides itself on its clothes being locally made, with its website listing factories in Auckland, Hamilton and Napier.

As of Tuesday morning, the brand’s website was hosting a page titled “Sustainability and Ethics” showing photos of 18 factory workers, and captioned: “The lovely team in our Napier factory, ‘Made It Here’, make a majority of the clothing we sell. Between them, they have over 300 years of experience in the sewing industry.”

By 1pm, the page had been altered and the photos removed. However, it still re-inforced the importance of buying New Zealand-made products.

The Companies Office lists two directors, Lauren Hart and Victoria Walling, both of Napier.

At the 2015 Westpac Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, the company won both the supreme Westpac Business of the Year Award and Napier City Council’s Medium-Large Business Award categories.

Around that time, it was also paid a visit by then-Prime Minister Sir John Key.

The company has not responded to questions about why the factory is closing, how many workers are affected, or where the clothing will be manufactured instead.

With RNZ.