Great Scot International Inc

What Great Scot International Inc does

Great Scot International Inc. is a privately held, founder-operated corporation founded in 1997 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company designs and supplies tartan and plaid fabrics, offering both a stock catalog of authentic tartans (woven in worsted wool and polyviscose by long-established UK mills) and bespoke custom tartan design and weaving services. Its proprietary registered design, The Darien Venture (Scottish Register of Tartans registration number 11,741), was created in 2017 in collaboration with GK Textiles and commemorates the historical Scottish Darien Venture of 1698-1700.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model, selling fabric by the yard and custom weaving services primarily through its own website (greatscotintl.com) and an Etsy storefront (tscottishweaver.etsy.com). Customer segments are heritage-focused individual consumers (clan affiliations, commemorative purchases, Scottish diaspora) and custom project clients requiring bespoke designs. Marketing is lightweight, relying on the company website, an opt-in email newsletter, and mutual partnerships with Scottish-heritage organizations (Scottish Tartans Authority, Scottish Heritage USA, The Tartan Ambassador). Orders are processed through QuickBooks, with fulfillment handled via UPS, USPS, and FedEx.

Revenue is generated from one-time fabric sales and professional services for custom design/weaving work; pricing is not publicly disclosed and quotes are provided on request. The firm is small (1-10 employees), has no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, no parent company, and no M&A history. Operating geographies are global in shipping scope but the company has no physical retail or international offices beyond its Charlotte headquarters.

Name

Great Scot International Inc

Legal name

Great Scot International Inc.

Website

https://greatscotintl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Great Scot International Inc. is a privately held, founder-operated tartan and plaid fabric supplier founded in 1997 and based in Charlotte, North Carolina, selling authentic UK-woven tartans by the yard and bespoke custom-weaving services to heritage consumers and commemorative-project clients via its website and Etsy store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fabric Sales: Direct sales of plaid fabric by the yard to customers through e-commerce channels, including worsted wool and polyviscose tartans from UK mills.
2. Custom Design and Weaving Services: Bespoke tartan design and custom weaving services for customers seeking unique, personalized tartans that can be treasured for generations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Great Scot International designs and supplies tartan fabrics, offering an extensive range of authentic stock tartans (aka plaids) and bespoke custom tartan design and weaving services. Products are sold by the yard in worsted wool and polyviscose and are woven by long-established mills in the United Kingdom.

Product overview

Great Scot International Inc is a tartan and plaid textile company founded in 1997, specializing in both bespoke custom weaving services and a stock collection of authentic tartans. The core offerings include plaid fabric sold by the yard, custom tartan design and weaving services, and proprietary registered tartans like The Darien Venture. All fabrics are sourced from established UK mills in worsted wool and polyviscose compositions. The company operates primarily through their e-commerce website and Etsy store, offering both ready-made stock tartans and fully custom design collaboration opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plaid Fabric by the Yard Woven textile sold by the yard, available in worsted wool and polyviscose fabrics from established UK mills, offered to individual customers and heritage enthusiasts.
• Tartan Design and Custom Weaving Custom tartan design and weaving services that allow customers to collaborate in creating unique, bespoke tartans that can be registered and treasured for generations, targeted at custom project clients.
• The Darien Venture Tartan A registered tartan (registration number 11,741) inspired by the 1698-1700 Darien Venture by the Company of Scotland, featuring colors representing the Scottish Saltire, Panamanian flag, Scottish hills, tropical foliage, and equatorial sun.
• Authentic Tartans (Stock Collection) An extensive range of authentic tartans (aka plaids) in worsted wool and polyviscose, woven by long-established mills in the United Kingdom, sold to individual consumers and heritage enthusiasts.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GK TextilescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2017Collaboration between Peter Wilson (Great Scot International) and Gordon Kirkbright (GK Textiles) to design The Darien Venture tartan. This partnership created a proprietary registered tartan design commemorating Scottish colonial history in Panama.
• UPSminorOthersThird-party shipping provider used to fulfill and deliver orders to customers.
• USPSminorOthersThird-party shipping provider used to fulfill and deliver orders to customers.
• FedExminorOthersThird-party shipping provider used to fulfill and deliver orders to customers.
• Scottish Tartans MuseumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization shown on the website, representing Scottish heritage and tartan culture.
• Scottish Heritage USAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization promoting Scottish heritage in the United States.
• The Tartan AmbassadorminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization for tartan promotion and awareness.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• USA Kilts: US-based Scottish heritage retailer specializing in kilts, tartans, and Scottish accessories sold online. Comparable as a multi-channel US Scottish-heritage merchant with overlapping fabric and accessory offerings.
• ScotlandShop: Multi-channel Scottish retailer selling tartans, kilts, and heritage products online and through international outlets. Comparable as a digital-and-physical Scottish-heritage retailer with overlapping custom and stock offerings.
• Lochcarron of Scotland: Scotland's largest tartan fabric manufacturer, weaving worsted wool and other tartans from its Selkirk mills for global wholesale and retail customers. Directly comparable as a UK-based tartan fabric producer supplying the same heritage and clan-customer base.
• House of Tartan: Long-running online tartan specialist offering thousands of tartan designs via fabric-by-the-yard and made-up products. Directly comparable as an e-commerce-first tartan retailer serving heritage and clan customers globally.
• The Tartan Shop: Online tartan and kilt retailer offering tartan fabric by the yard alongside finished accessories. Comparable as a US-accessible, online-focused tartan yardage retailer serving a similar heritage customer base.
• Forsyth of Edinburgh: Established Edinburgh-based Scottish heritage and tartan specialist offering tartans, kilts, and accessories. Comparable as a long-standing Scottish-heritage retailer with overlapping custom and stock tartan offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Jo-Ann Stores: Major US craft and fabric retailer with hundreds of stores plus a national e-commerce site. Comparable as a broad-based craft and fabric retailer serving hobbyist and sewist customers, though with a far wider category mix than tartan.
• Mood Fabrics: Well-known high-end fabric retailer with a flagship NYC store plus global e-commerce. Comparable as a premium fabric-by-the-yard retailer, but operating at much larger scale and with a far wider product range than a tartan-only specialist.
• Fabric.com (Amazon): Large-scale online fabric retailer offering thousands of fabrics by the yard across categories. Comparable as a mass-market online fabric-by-the-yard retailer, but operating at vastly greater scale and breadth than a niche tartan specialist.

Emerging players

• Britex Fabrics: San Francisco-based specialty fabric retailer combining a historic brick-and-mortar store with online sales. Comparable as a specialty fabric-by-the-yard retailer, though with broader fashion-fabric range rather than a tartan-only focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-scot-international-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Scot International Inc