Kenneth Mackenzie Ltd, one of the mills that produce Harris Tweed, has marked its 120th anniversary with a two-day celebration on the Isle of Lewis, the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) reported on 26 May 2026. The mill was founded in 1906 and has been fully owned and run by the Lockerby family since 2019.
The celebrations included tours of the mill, an exhibition curated by the Scottish fashion designer Siobhan Mackenzie, a dinner at Lews Castle, visits to weavers' homes and a closing dinner and ceilidh. The mill employs 38 people in Lewis and Harris and contracts 58 home-based weavers, who weave the fabric on their own looms as the law requires.
Growth against the trend
According to the company, its sales have risen every year from 2019/20 to 2024/25. That included growth in 2024/25, a year in which total Harris Tweed output fell. The company said the growth came from customers in England, Germany, Japan and China, and that it expects it to continue.
The mill credited investment in new machinery and improved production processes, a refreshed brand under the name Harris Tweed by KMK, the promotion of staff into sales roles and a push for more business in the UK and abroad. Its customers include furniture makers, fashion houses, designers and makers of clothing and accessories in the UK, Europe, Asia and North America. The owners aim to grow turnover over the next five to ten years, with exports playing a central part.
“Kenneth Mackenzie supplies customers all over the world”
Nichola Lockerby, managing director of Kenneth Mackenzie, as quoted by UKFT
A weaver's family in charge
Chairman Alex Lockerby began weaving at the age of 12, learning from his father. After attending Lewis Castle School he moved to Yorkshire in 1970 for further training, returned to Lewis in 1976 and joined Kenneth Mackenzie in 2006 from another mill. His daughter, Nichola Lockerby, is managing director.
The wider Harris Tweed picture
Harris Tweed is protected by a 1993 Act of Parliament, which requires it to be handwoven by islanders at home in the Outer Hebrides from wool dyed and spun there. The Harris Tweed Authority said that more than 580,000 meters were produced in 2024, and in 2025 it counted 140 weavers after a recruitment campaign begun in 2023, Agence France-Presse reported.
The mill's figures come from the company itself, published as a member profile by UKFT, so they have not been independently verified. They do show a mill investing in machinery and sales staff at a time when the overall market was weaker.
What it means for tailoring
For anyone commissioning a tweed jacket or overcoat, the anniversary is a reminder of how small the Harris Tweed supply base is: the Harris Tweed Authority counted 140 weavers across the islands in 2025. Each mill offers its own range of patterns, so a tailor's bunch from one mill will differ from another's. Our guides to overcoat styles and worsted versus woolen wool explain where tweed fits in a wardrobe.
