Another chance to get House of Cheviot Shetland and Orkney hose

[cable scot]

No need to apologize. The shipping details you describe are obscure to me, but it's no matter. I just looked at the shipping charge on the box and it seemed in the realm of reasonability, so I cheerfully Paypal-ed it to you. Thanks for the fast service. We may have to start calling you Michael "Rocky" Flemming.

Nice, I like that

[Grizzled Ian]

My shipment of new hose just arrived. Whacko!!
All Shetland style: the Lovat Blue go well under the Robertson hunting material that I am turning into a kilt for my son; the Highfell were made to be worn with the Cameron of Erracht weathered I so enjoy; and the Scotspine are a real treat with the tartan that I shan't name, but which will ensure I get eaten as soon as I finish making a kilt from it.
Thank you Michael and Matt!

[Kilted Cole]

WOW those are pretty pricey!

[Grizzled Ian]

KC, webury.com is selling House of Cheviot's "Sandringham Marl" style in a Scotspine colour. It does not appear to be the same Scotspine colour as the apparently discontinued Shetland style that this thread is about; although it also appears that HoC may be willing to supply Shetland if you are prepared to order 3 pairs. Others have probably contacted HoC distributors already looking for unsold Shetland stock. Good luck!

[artificer]

WOW those are pretty pricey!

They are expensive, but they're absolutely glorious. A nice chunky knit with absolutely stunning colours. They're my favorite style of hose now,
barring my custom diced. They really make all my 'regular' hose seem a bit substandard by comparison.


Not that I'm volunteering Michael for it , but if we did a run every year or two I'd be down for picking up new ones every cycle.
I wish Cheviot would expand the range instead of practically killing it off, I honestly think that if more folks saw them in person the business on them
would boom.

ith:

[Kilted Cole]

I have to admit.....Maybe its because I'm a Minnesotan...but I'm loving the Nordic Snowflake shooting hose. http://webury.com/store/Navy_Country_Sock.html

[Michael Flemming]

My shipment of new hose just arrived.

Glad to hear it, Ian. That was pretty quick, just about 10 days since I mailed them.

[Michael Flemming]

Not that I'm volunteering Michael for it , but if we did a run every year or two I'd be down for picking up new ones every cycle.

It really hasn't been all that big of a chore....

I wish Cheviot would expand the range instead of practically killing it off, I honestly think that if more folks saw them in person the business on them would boom.

I certainly think so. I never knew about them until Matt posted the notice about clearing out his last few.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I just want to chime in here and say thanks to Michael for organizing this. I'm glad that so many were able to take advantage of this opportunity to acquire some truly fantastic kilt hose.

I just want to shed some light as to why these styles are not more generally available. When it is said that House of Cheviot has discontinued the style, it does not mean that they will never be made again. It just means that they are no longer stock supported. The factory is still capable of producing them, and happy to do so for certain minimum orders. Why they are no longer stock supporting them is simply due to lack of demand.

I cannot speak as to the factory sales overall, but as I handle all their US accounts, I can speak to what has been sold in the US for the past few years. And this single purchase organized through Michael has contained more Shetland and Orkney hose than I sold the three years previous put together.

Why might this be? The answer I am sure boils down to price. These hose are expensive to produce. I know many on X Marks are more than willing to pay a higher price for a high quality item, in terms of the general public, the overwhelming majority of hose that I ship out are Glenmore (which are the least expensive hose HoC makes), with the more expensive Lewis being second. The Lewis hose, as many know, retail generally between $45 and $50. To most people, that represents the upper end of what they'd like to pay for a pair of non-custom, off the shelf kilt hose. And they are well worth it! But at that price, there is a good profit margin in there for the retailer.

The $80 that Michael was charging the rabble here for the Shetland and Orkney hose is pretty close to the wholesale trade price on these. He wasn't really out to make a profit. So you guys got an amazing deal. But for a retailer to stock and sell these same styles, you could expect them to be charging you $140. And at that price point, most retailers were not interested. I had only a handful of orders for them over a couple of years. And I assume that the same was true in the UK and European markets, as well. Which is why, ultimately, House of Cheviot decided these particular styles - while very nice - were not worth their effort to stock support.

I was happy to work with Michael on this because these are styles that otherwise would not be available, and because he was putting a large group order in. And if he, or someone else, were interested in doing the same later on down the road, I'd be delighted to do it again. (And by the way, as these are non-stocked, made to order hose, they can be made in pretty much any color you might want).

But for those wondering why House of Cheviot would decide to discontinue such a wonderful style of hose, I hope this sheds some light on the reasons why.

Thanks, and hope you all enjoy the hose!
Matt

[mookien]

... The $80 that Michael was charging the rabble here for the Shetland and Orkney hose is pretty close to the wholesale trade price on these. He wasn't really out to make a profit. So you guys got an amazing deal. ...
Matt

That's precisely why I jumped on this offer - almost as fast as sailortats. The Shetland hose are my all time favorites, even though they are too warm for me except in cool/cold weather.

Thanks again, Matt, for facilitating what Michael initiated. And, thanks for putting the transaction in an economic context.

John

PS: As for sailortats, those Navy "sailors" are hard to beat. My daughter-in-law's father is an old nuke boat guy. And, over the years I've worked with other Navy personnel - helicopter pilots, SEALs, et. al. through some joint LASL/Navy projects. They all have one characteristic in common - "Get to work and don't stop until the job is done!" It's impressive. sailortats (and any other Navy guys/gals reading this): Thank you for your service.