Small blip for wool brand

The global recession and the volatile NZ dollar have hampered plans to launch Elders New Zealand's Just Shorn brand. But Elders national export manager Craig Wilson is confident grower and retailer support remains strong and the brand will be successful when launched into the North American market next year reports The Southland Times. The company announced the creation of the Just Shorn brand in June to market luxury floor coverings made from strong wool in the United States. Elders has committed several million dollars to the project with the aim of enticing a niche market of affluent Americans who want to buy sustainable, traceable products. The branded wool collection has been developed with carpet retailing giant CCA Global Partners, which has about 3500 stores in the US. The company's annual buying conference is in early February, when presentations will be made on the flooring products that retailers can order for the coming year. Mr Wilson said US consumers did not know the difference between wool and synthetic carpets. Wool flooring accounted for only about 2 per cent of CCA's business, so to increase that by 1 per cent would bring significant benefits to New Zealand strong-wool growers, he said. "It's about re-educating the consumer about the benefits of wool." The aim of the branding was to promote the benefits of natural wool carpets over synthetic products by extolling wool's sustainable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly aspects. They were not going to try to target 300 million American consumers but focus on the select upper-middle end of the market that would pay a premium for sustainable and natural products "“ potentially up to 20 per cent more for a premium product, he said. An important aspect of the programme was traceability, which allowed consumers to scan a section of the carpet to identify the source of the wool. "It's not enough to say it's from New Zealand and off sustainable farm practices "“ you have to prove it." Point-of-sale marketing would promote a rustic connection to the farm, with videos of farmers explaining their passion for wool.