Aran sweaters for the 21st century

Áine Knitwear has bucked the trend, making clothes that mix the classic and contemporary, writes Trish Dromey.

CREATING an updated Aran look for the 21st Century has helped Clare company Áine Knitwear develop exports to 12 international markets .

Winner of the National Enterprise Design Award for 2015, the company set up 15 years ago, at a time when most clothes manufacturing was moving to Asia. It expanded in 2010, when many companies were failing.

Supplying a niche market for high-end garments made from Donegal yarn and Irish tweed, Áine Knitwear now sells in over 150 stores, including the Kilkenny and Glenaran shops in Ireland, and Diamaru, a large department chain in Japan.

Based in Clonlara where it employs a staff of nine, the company produces men and women’s clothing and homewares.

“We make machine knitted textured garments with are hand finished. Our best selling product is a floral collar and for the last three years ponchos have also being sold very well,” says Anne Behan, Áine Knitwear’s founder and managing director.

The company has seen sales grow by 30% a year since 2012 and has since expanded its production facilities twice. Now it is gearing up for further growth in Scotland and Ireland and making plans to sell through agencies.

A fashion graduate of Limerick School of Art and design, Ms Behan worked for 10 years in the knitwear industry before setting up her own company. The aim was to combine her design skills with high quality natural materials to produce “beautiful Irish knitwear”.

Following a “gut feeling” which told her that she could find an export market for high quality Irish knitwear, she set up the business at her home in Limerick. Operating on her own, she brought out one collection a year.

Her first customer was a German retail store specialising in high quality knitwear. Selling to gift outlets in Scotland and Irish shops in Canada and the US she had, by 2010, built up a customer base of 80 stores and moved to a 50 sq metre converted stable in Clonlara. In 2009, she had also begun supplying eight Japanese stores with scarves and hats.

The transformation from a small operation into a company with a staff of nine came about largely because of a government contract.

“In 2012 we were awarded the contract to design and manufacture 12,000 scarves for presentation to visiting dignitaries during the Irish presidency of the EU,” says Ms Behan. With assistance from her Local Enterprise Office, she bought two knitting machines, took on three staff and worked 24-hour shifts to get the order ready. That contract gave the company great brand exposure.

In the early days of the company 100% of garments went for export, but the Irish market now accounts for 30% of sales, growing by 10% a year for the last four years.

“Since the recession there has been a lot more support for Irish companies.”

During the recession, the biggest demand has been for gloves, hats and scarves for women. In recent years she has brought out a homeware and a men’s range.

In the past she has sold designs and swatches to Ralph Lauren and to Calvin Klein. Following an updating of the brand image in 2014, Ms Behan is now preparing to increase marketing activity. She says there is a growing market for hand-crafted garments that marry the traditional with modern design. “It’s about creating the next generation of Irish Knitwear — updating traditional Aran knitwear and creating a classic look with cashmere and wool blends.”