Good spell for business Scots firm inundated by Harry Potter fans

A TINY Scottish knitwear company is struggling to cope with demand for jumpers it made for Harry Potter as fans clamber to model themselves on the boy wizard.

MAGIC KNITWEAR Demand for the boy wizard s sweater has soared MAGIC KNITWEAR: Demand for the boy wizard’s sweater has soared

Web traffic to the Lochaven International website has soared by an incredible 25,000-fold since it emerged the firm provided the school uniform for fabled Hogwarts.

Last week the firm caved in to demand and made its garments available to buy online for the first time.

The lambswool jumpers first appeared on the big screen in 2001 when Warner Brothers released Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Since then the movie producers have returned to the company, based in Stewarton, Ayrshire, for repeat orders for each of the sequels based on JK Rowling’s best-selling books.

For the latest film, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, due out in July, the factory’s 20 staff delivered 400 dark grey cardigans, sweaters and tank tops with the colours of the four Hogwarts houses of Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

Managing director Keith Murray said yesterday that interest in the firm’s products had been “incredible”.

He said: “We will never be able to make as many jumpers as people would like us to. It’s impossible.

“We are selling the same type as Warner Bros buy for the films. We can make a few hundred a year and want to keep it that way so we are holding back.”

He added: “These are collectibles and not cheap. There are plenty of firms selling cheap imitations. What we offer is the real deal.”

Each jumper carries ‘Made in Scotland’ and ‘Lochaven’ labels although it is not thought the company name features in the film’s credits.

Mr Murray said it was a huge boost for Lochaven when Warner Bros asked it to provide clothes for the movie series. He said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the order book.

“Warner Bros actually sent back the jumpers of the main characters all labelled with the kind of alterations required for the next film.

“So we had a box of jumpers belonging to Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and some of the others just sitting here.

“The most important characters are kitted out with made to measure uniforms while everyone else wears our standard sizes.”

Outside the Potter films the firm has also supplied a Burberry dog coat for the movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and has worked with other brands including Ralph Lauren.

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