about us
J. Alex Swift Ltd was established in 1895 by John Alexander Swift in the village of Hathern where it remains today. The sock dynasty is now being looked after by the 4th generation of the Swift family. With 120 years of knowledge and experience comes an incomparable expertise. There is a lot of history amongst the factory walls and while we value tradition we keep on innovating.
This is how we have remained a respected company in the British hosiery industry for so long. None the less, a couple of things haven’t changed – the pride we take in our work, the exquisite quality of our products or the satisfaction of our customers.
Some might say “Oh, these are only socks.” For us, it’s not just a piece of clothing item, it’s a treat for the feet and for the eye. We design and knit for football and cricket teams for them to comfortably stand out. We help keep Scottish heritage alive with our piper and kilt hose. Our walking and shooting socks conquer the great outdoors. Or if you are just looking for a pleasant sleep our alpaca bedsocks are the warmest of them all. We knit a lot of thought and care into our products and use the finest yarns.
Our range of products has evolved over the years as the UK sock market has changed. We are the leading manufacturer of mohair and alpaca socks alongside our many other specialist products. We have concentrated on the use of traditional double cylinder equipment to produce our items and offer hand linking to complement these quality socks. We also have a small plant of single cylinder machines for intarsia and lightweight items. Some of our knitting machines have been in operation since the ‘60s and haven’t missed a beat. We also invested in new technologies and have the latest sock machines from Japan. We take advantage of both worlds.
