History and Heritage

William Anderson and his two sons ran a well-known tailoring business in Edinburgh, the Capital City of Scotland. In 1868, with trade increasing, they decided to progress from their partnership by forming a Limited Company, thus founding the Kinloch Anderson Company today that is currently managed by the fifth and sixth generations.

For over 100 years, the Company was based in George Street, one of the most prestigious shopping streets in the centre of Edinburgh. Later, the demands of increased production space necessitated a move outwith the City Centre, with the Head Office now being located in Leith, the historic Port of Edinburgh and still only minutes away from the City Centre.

During the latter part of the 19th Century, Kinloch Anderson became renowned throughout the country and beyond, as Scotland's premier civilian tailors. Prior to the advent of the First World War, military tailoring developed as an important part of the business, with officers’ uniforms being tailored for all of the famous Scottish Regiments.

Some colourful examples of the Company's work during this period can be seen in the Kinloch Anderson Heritage Museum located in the Leith retail premises. In these early days, it was a fine sight to see over 200 fully qualified tailors sitting cross legged on benches, sewing garments, with others wielding heavy metal pressing irons to press in the pleats of military weight kilts.



Civilian and military tailoring continued to be the mainstays of the Company until well after the end of the Second World War. However, in the early 1930's, William Kinloch Anderson had made an important decision to introduce ready-to-wear men's clothing - at that time a daring and innovative move for a prestigious tailor. Subsequently, as many other tailoring businesses declined, the Kinloch Anderson Company thrived as men's outfitters and specialists in Highland Dress.

Another important decision in the development of the Company was made in 1950 by W J Kinloch Anderson, the fourth generation Chairman. In order to meet the increasing demand in the post war period, particularly in North America, a Wholesale Division was established to supply clothing and accessories in tartans and tweeds.

This formed the basis for the growth of manufacturing quality men's and ladies' clothing, primarily for export to North America and European countries, and later to Japan and the Far East. In 1979 the Company was awarded the Queens Award for Export Achievement and in 1999 Kinloch Anderson won the Award for Business Excellence as the best manufacturers and distributors in the Edinburgh and Lothians region of Scotland.

As world markets became ever more sophisticated in the latter part of the 20th Century, a decision was taken to develop the brand name and image of Kinloch Anderson by entering into licence agreements with compatible, high quality partners - first in Japan, then Taiwan, South Korea and North America. These partnerships have blossomed and grown into a significant business in these countries.