John Smedley appoints new managing director

British luxury knitwear brand John Smedley has appointed Jess McGuire Dudley as its new managing director, succeeding Ian Maclean, who will step into a new role with the company.

McGuire Dudley, who joined the Derbyshire-based manufacturer in 2014 as head of marketing, was most recently the brand’s deputy managing director and global brand director. She will take up her new role as managing director this month.

Maclean, a member of the Smedley family, has worked within the John Smedley business for the past 25 years and will now step into the executive chairman’s role.

The appointment coincides with the British heritage knitwear brand and manufacturer's renewed focus on strategically futureproofing John Smedley, both in manufacturing and in product design, as well as British craftsmanship more broadly.

Established in 1784, the business claims that McGuire Dudley has been pivotal in transforming the marketing and sales side of the business in recent years, including refreshing the brand’s image and the many ways it is visible in markets around the world, which has resulted in double-digit increases to John Smedley’s global sales across e-commerce (80 percent) and its retail stores (6 percent), as well as growing its physical retail footprint with two standalone stores in London.

John Smedley “futureproofing” business with Jess McGuire Dudley as its new managing director

In addition, McGuire Dudley recently spearheaded the launch of the brand’s first diffusion line, ‘JS by John Smedley’ exclusively stocked at British department store John Lewis, which was designed to take its 240-year history in British manufacturing and offer a new contemporary take on knitwear to a wider audience.

McGuire Dudley also oversaw last year's reintroduction of the brand's third-party production arm at the business's Derbyshire headquarters for a small, stable roster of likeminded brands and expanded the range of products on offer through a licensing agreement with the brand’s key Japanese partners.

Commenting on her appointment, McGuire Dudley said in a statement: “There is a real love between me and this business, and I am determined to ensure it thrives for decades to come.

“The commercial landscape is a challenge for a UK based manufacturing brand; traditional wholesale and retail continue to be tough, and the future has a lot of uncertain challenges, from US tariffs to tax increases. But it is a challenge we are up for facing, and we have plenty of new ideas to maintain John Smedley as ‘The World’s Finest Knitwear’.”

To continue British craftmanship, John Smedley, which holds the Royal Warrant of Appointment from His Majesty King Charles III for fine knitwear and currently employs 275 people, added that McGuire Dudley will be introducing a talent bank to foster training and development in knitwear manufacturing for young people.

McGuire Dudley added: “In addition to our core collections, bringing British fibre to the forefront of what we do, supporting the wider industry of spinners to farmers, and injecting a touch of British innovation into everything we do… that’s how we modernise our industry to ensure we attract new talent.

“I am keen to nurture talent, making sure John Smedley as a business is a space for people to learn and develop, far into the future. Our brand values are to be British, Iconic and Responsible, and I stand by this vision.”

John Smedley remains the oldest manufacturing factory in the world, still operating in its original home in Lea Mills in the Derwent Valley. It has wholesale showrooms in London and Milan, alongside two stores in London and 11 stores in Japan, including in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kyoto, with further new openings coming in 2025/2026. The brand’s menswear and womenswear ranges are also available at Mr Porter, Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Isetan, Di Bijenkorf, and Le Bon Marche.