Highlander began in 1985 when owner Bahram Golzari, was studying for his PHD at Edinburgh University. Bahram was a keen mountaineer and leader of the University mountaineering club. At the time Leith Army Stores, a long-established military surplus store, was the favourite shop to supply the club with outdoor equipment, so when it unfortunately went into liquidation, Bahram seized the opportunity to buy it and Highlander was officially born on 5th April 1985.
As business grew Bahram identified a gap in the market for bespoke outdoor gear that was as tough as the army surplus gear, but without the expensive price tag of some of the other brands around at the time. So he decided to manufacture his own. The new lines proved a success and Highlander started to supply independent outdoor and military stores across the UK.
Over the years Highlander has steadily grown its business, expanding into National retail chains and exporting to Europe and beyond. We now produce over 2,000 lines, so in 2005 we had to move out to a bigger premises in Livingston in order to support our expanding product portfolio and team!
At Highlander we like to go after big ideas and dreams. So when we successfully secured a contract to supply the London 2012 Olympics with official merchandise, the team were delighted. Following this success we went on to supply the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games with official merchandise too. The family were thrilled to be able to support these important sporting events and take advantage of the opportunities that came with them.
Highlander is a family owned and run business to this day, which means that several years ago Bahram’s two sons Ramin and Kian came into the business to drive it forward and carry on their Father’s good work. The proudest moment came for the whole family in 2014 when they were voted the best Small to medium Scottish Family business of the year at the Herald Family Business awards. In the run up to our 30thcelebrations this was a great endorsement of all of our hard work.
