There is rarely a year that Glastonbury's famous and not-so-famous festival-goers are not spotted wearing mud-splattered welly boots by the iconic Scottish brand.
However, the prolonged dry weather in America hitting, high freight costs and the shutdown of its Chinese factory during Covid is said to have led to a dramatic turn in fortunes for Hunter Boots.
The Edinburgh-based brand has gone into administration with debts of more than £100milion, including £11.5million owed to UK trade creditors.
Filings at Companies House show it went into administration on June 5, with a subsequent filing showing that it changed its name to HBL Realisations Limited on June 14.
There is said to have been customer complaints about quality since production moved to China in 2008.
The UK’s only outlet in Oxfordshire, has now closed and it is understood that 11 of the company’s workforce have been made redundant with the remaining 110 jobs at risk.
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According to reports the brand name and intellectual property rights have been bought by the US company Authentic Brands Group, which also owns Reebok and Ted Baker.
A message on the Hunter website said: ‘We’re creating a new experience for you. Sign up below to be notified when we launch!’
Clare Kennedy, one of the administrators at AlixPartners, said: ‘We are delighted to have assisted in securing a new home for this storied British brand."
Hunter wellies have been a favourite of the Royal family while model Kate Moss helped seal their reputation as a festival footwear must-have after being spotted wearing a mud-splattered pair at the event in 2005.
Originally established in 1856 as the North British Rubber Company, Hunter also sold bags, socks and accessories.
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It previously made tyres, conveyor belts, combs, golf balls, hot water bottles and rubber flooring.
Hunter holds several Royal Warrants as suppliers of waterproof footwear.
The company takes its roots in early January 1856 when Henry Lee Norris, an American entrepreneur from New Jersey, and his friend and partner Spencer Thomas Parmelee of New Haven, Connecticut, landed in Scotland to try to secure a patent for the manufacture of India-rubber overshoes and boots.
They arrived in Glasgow and began by searching for a suitable factory, which they eventually found at the Castle Mill in Edinburgh.
The North British Rubber Company (which much later became known as Hunter Boot Limited) was registered as a limited liability company in September 1857.
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