Iron Heart Update - 2026
-
It’s a tough spot on all 3 sides. I will say that without my local brick and mortar I wouldn’t have been introduced to 21oz 666’s. Wouldn’t have gotten a perfect fitting uhf. Wouldn’t have my Wabash CPO and would never have got my 16oz OD slub which turns out is my favourite of my three iH type 3’s. All of those things I bought because I just happened to be on Queen Street and was curious enough to give em a try on. The other hand, I want to be able to order my Watermelon man or whatever from Gosport without having to set an alarm and anxiously beat everyone to checkout. That turns me off of companies like Ship John tbh so I totally get this decision.
-
The simple fact is that we had to do something. As Alex tried to articulate in his communications, we have to do something, or Iron Heart as a company will probably break and disappear, If that happens then nobody can sell Iron Heart. That may sound like an exaggeration, but I assure you it is not.
Alex and Haraki have been trying to fix our supply chain issues in various ways for years, none of the initiatives had relieved the resultant problems. The fact that we still have not delivered all of FW25 is one small indication of the issues we are having.
This has been an awful few weeks, as we work out what to do, how best to make the changes needed with minimum negative impact to our (pretentious word alert) ecosystem. I am proud of Alex because he has had the guts to do something that whilst personally devastating, had to be done. I am not sure that I would have had the balls to do it.
Which is one of the reasons Paula and I handed the reins to Alex when we did.
The last thing he needs at the moment is shit from people who think that they know more than him, he has enough on his plate as it is.
-
Would hate for anything to happen to this brand. I really do cherish all my IH because I really can see the hard work and love put into these products. As well as the customer service I constantly see striving to do their best to help me or even my wife. Don’t envy the decisions Alex has to make. Best of luck 🫡.
This is Steve.
-
I wish that more businesses knew when to concentrate on their core values rather than spread themselves too thin.
-
Iron Heart has my respect and I am glad they are focusing on quality over quantity.
-
It's amazing that there's a forum you guys share all this information on, it's one thing sending an e-mail to customers about changes but putting it out in a public forum where people can ask questions etc must be stressful.
I agree with Giles, people shouldn't be giving anyone shit for this.
I think it's more important to keep the lights on at Gosport than try "branch out" with your retailers.
-
@Giles
you have a point... -
Seeing such openness from a brand/company is refreshing. The respect for this community is outstanding, and a testament to IHUKs broad customer service.
We aren’t entitled to any of this information.
I hope this improves things for you as hoped, that will improve things for all of us too!
-
“While concerns can be raised, my experience with these businesses has been consistently transparent and respectful, with no sign of exploitation.”
As for you, have 101 things to do every day, your job is never easy to keep up with supply and demand.
Iron Heart a company is booming its way up.
For an example SelfEdge are what they are because of Giles bringing Iron Heart.You do yearly promotions of new products, retailers like what they see.
In my eyes that’s where the problem can be created, with what happening with FW25.
Time is money. Keeping things in balance core stuff along with new season need be delivered on time.
This is a no win one for nobody.
Iron Heart in Japan Boss has a lot of pressure, still giving 100 percent working along with UK Iron Heart
-
I think a lot of people are missing the fact that it's not just supply and demand, the demand is getting too high for all Japanese denim companies... They literally can't keep up with demand, and it's putting pressure on mills which could turn around and stop doing business with them if they're too pushy... I think it's just becoming difficult to supply retail partners, when they're not able to supply themselves with much due to demand.
-
@Grim said in Iron Heart Update - 2026:
Would hate for anything to happen to this brand. I really do cherish all my IH because I really can see the hard work and love put into these products. As well as the customer service I constantly see striving to do their best to help me or even my wife. Don’t envy the decisions Alex has to make. Best of luck 🫡.
This
Couldn’t have said it better. Best brand in the business and Gosport customer service is the Gold standard. 
-
Found this thread after receiving the email earlier today.
It is quite amazing to see how demand for IH has grown over the years. There are also so many IH products these days, which i suppose might create extra supply chain stress.
Anyway, do what you need to do in order to keep the brand healthy. Cheers all. -
Lots of supportive comments here! None of us want to see anything bad happen to the brand we love so much. We can all agree that IH is special, but this forum is special too, and I'm really glad to see this community rally around @Alex during what must be a really difficult time. Thank you!
-
Thanks for sharing this information, it is hard to fully grasp all the things that go on in the back end, we get little glimpses of things when the team mentions expecting some stock of something or fabric being unavailable, but I can only imagine the coordination of resources, materials etc. is quite a hectic job on its own and then throwing in so many retailers across the entire globe of timezones.
As many others have echoed, I buy straight from Gosport as the insane level of service that is received makes every cent spent worth it, the love and pride for the brand that everyone so clearly has over there makes every purchase an easy decision. The level of hospitality from Alex when I was in London, the emails I have received about missing a product release that I had communicated interest in, its what makes Iron Heart so special, something that anyone on the outside will never understand. Add the forum on top of it all and its a really awesome community!
Looking forward to whats in store for 2026 from you guys and beyond!!
-
@Go-For-Chill Yeah I'd like to second this as well - Champ, Heath and the entire Guilty Party team run a top-notch operation. I've purchased many IH products I would not have normally purchased directly from IHUK.
I feel quite lucky GP is right down the street from me. Keeping my fingers crossed they stay in yall's good graces. Will always be an IH fan regardless though.. -
Most of our retailers are stand-up people. If we had used that as the criteria, we would not have achieved what we need to.
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
-
IH UK is always my first go to, however, Iron Shop Provisions is top notch in all my interactions with them. I think in all things IH UK does well, selecting retailers is another, so they all seem pretty solid.
