A Glasgow kiltmaker and hire company has become an associate member of Scotland House as it bids to capture a growing share of business events from London and the South East.
MacGregor and MacDuff has joined the ranks of Scottish-based events firms looking to capitalise on the Scottish Government-backed business hub, which recently opened its doors in London.
Mihri Miralem, Market Manager for London & South England at VisitScotland Business Events, is already based at Scotland House, at 58 Victoria Embankment, as part of national efforts to grow Scotland’s MICE sector.
MacGregor and MacDuff, which was founded in 1979 and has two stores in Glasgow and one in Ayrshire, unveiled plans to use its Scotland House membership to build on its bi-weekly London fitting service for the corporate events market.
Jason Landon, Operations and Training Manager, said: “The London market is one that is continuing to grow for us and associate member status at Scotland House seemed like a natural thing for us to do. We hold a pop-up shop in the capital every two weeks, something we started last year, and it proved very popular. We have worked with the big corporates like JP Morgan and it’s a market we are trying to break into – the eventual aim would be to have a store in London. We will see how it builds in the next 12 months with membership of Scotland House. We are currently in London regularly with pre-booked appointments with corporates, so we know it’s a service that is increasingly in demand.”
Landon says MacGregor and MacDuff specialise in largescale events and recently supplied new jackets for an entire pipe band; he said it can also manufacture kilts to order.
He added: “Scottish-themed events are also growing in popularity, I would say. It’s something we are seeing more of and I expect that to continue.”
The company has also developed a five-minute ‘how to wear a kilt’ video guide for corporates, which has had 75,000 views on YouTube.
VisitScotland’s own monitoring figures show that during 2016/17, 54% of UK enquiries to the VisitScotland Business Events team came from London & South England. Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events at VisitScotland said: “London and the South East are very important geographical markets for Scotland’s MICE industry. We have been active and highly visible in London for many years. Now Scotland House will give us a prominent and exciting new home, right alongside our key partners who share our ambition to make Scotland the destination of choice for business.”
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