THE United States retail store owned by VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay has seen its profits rise sharply as a result of continuing strong interest in Scotch whisky.
However The Canadian highlandwear and tartan goods shop run by Mr Cantlay saw its profits fall. The details are revealed in a Companies House filing for William Glen, which has its headquarters in Callander, near Stirling.
The abbreviated accounts for the Scottish company show William Glen & Son Inc, which operates in San Francisco, California, recorded a net profit of £66,340 in the 12 months to January this year. That compares to the £38,645 booked in the prior financial year.
However the Toronto business Cairngorm Scottish Imports, which also trades as William Glen & Son but does not sell any whisky because of the state controlled licensing laws in Canada, saw its profits reverse from £51,923 to £15,702. Speaking from California, Mr Cantlay, who was formerly involved in running the Hector Russell highlandwear business and the Whisky Shop retail outlets, said: "There is a continuing growth in interest in whisky in America. We established that business in California from scratch and [whisky] is where the interest has been. I imagine that is going to continue to build."
Mr Cantlay says the business hosts tasting events and also gets involved with local whisky tasting clubs although he emphasised the difference between retailing in the UK and the US. He said: "Even the bottle sizes are different. Licensing is different, distributors are different. The whole emotion and romance of how each whisky is different creates great interest.
"A lot of the people who we see know a lot about Scotland or are thinking of coming to Scotland are totally intrigued by the whisky trails.
"Being California they are used the concepts of different brands and locations creating different products."
On the shop in Toronto, Mr Cantlay said: "That's very much surrounding the wedding business. There is a large Scottish-interest community there."
Mr Cantlay said the Ryder Cup had sparked further interest in Scotland from customers of the US business while the Canadian operation was boosted by the Commonwealth Games.
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