New Zealand fine wool growers will underpin the forward growth strategy of Norwegian wool company Devold as it targets future global growth in the fight against synthetics.
Adding to the upbeat vibe of the Devold wool summit in Christchurch, growers also learnt that China presents an opportunity for them to grow their returns in alternative markets for anything outside their main fleece contracts.
“It’s time to move and strengthen our presence in the global market scene and your grower part in the value chain is a very important part of our story,” Devold of Norway chief executive Oystein Vikingsen Fauske told the gathering of 45 South Island wool growers.
Under its mantra of “designed in Norway, grown in NZ, made by Devold” with full transparency from sheep to shop, Devold’s brand and product identity is closely connected with the NZ Merino wool growers that underpin its outdoor clothing focus.
“We are confident we have the very best wool in the world from you our growers. No one else can make better product than we do, because we have the best and I am super grateful and super proud of our product because you are our growers,” Fauske said.
The 2023 NZ clip summary showed 44 NZ growers supplied 1994 bales, 363,624 greasy kilograms of the best Merino wool, accepted by Devold at an average of $24 a kilogram.
“A fair whack of this wool came out of South Canterbury’s Mackenzie Country, 975 bales, with Marlborough, Canterbury and Central Otago filling the rest, and we have a supplier wait list,” Devold NZ general manager Craig Smith said.
“Like Devold, our growers are mission driven, values based and we have to keep up our wool quality as we can only grow our strategy if we have the best wool sales.
“A 10% sales growth can mean 10% more wool from our growers.”
Smith assured the farmers that Devold will be selective about who it takes in, with existing suppliers having first offer of any increased volume.
“We will have no more growers coming in unless we can’t do this from within the grower pool we have now.”
Devold is widening its reach for more people to use its heritage outdoor clothing collection, now also including a range “with more adrenalin in it”, and growing market share with a premium customer experience strategy, “daring to be bold”, the clear focus going forward.
Devold marketing manager Kyrre Ufert Lomo said with 170 years of uncompromising quality and transparency, “staying true to our heritage and our quality in responsible sustainable and healthy growth, both in brand and quality” is the focus of doing business in 2024.
“Our main competitors are not the likes of Icebreaker or Aclima – it’s plastic, fast fashion versus slow fashion. We are fighting plastics.
“We are not always aiming for the highest volume and at any cost but defining our growth journey in a sheep-to-shop story to widen consumer knowledge of our finest crafted Merino collection with uncompromised, responsible and enduring quality and transparency.
“We have plans booked to visit growers in NZ in September this year to see on farm what you do and to document and tell that in our story.”
Smith told growers there are “big opportunities” as they questioned how future growth will find markets for the lesser wool clip, such as bellies and pieces that are not currently in their Devold fleece contracts.
“The world is a messy place, farming is tough at the moment but there are positive vibes,” Smith said.
“We have a group of like-minded growers who are proud of what they do and we have the directive to market that wool, anything outside the fleece contract, on their behalf as a collective of growers.”
China is already showing interest.
“China will soak it up every day of the week as these are the markets that will take every other kilogram of wool that is traceable and certified quality and volume.
“We are looking for markets as growth may happen, we have top makers in China looking for wool direct from farm, we just need to go back and confirm a contract and even though the wool goes to China, a lot ends up into Europe, therefore it needs that quality and traceability.”
Smith said while growth is going to be tough, there are exciting times ahead.
“With a committed group of growers and wool we know ticks all the boxes, we know we have quality and volume to take to the market.”
There is also potential to expand the retail experience in NZ. Currently there is just the one shop, in Wanaka.
“The Wanaka shop is doing really well but we have to drive that strategically where brand and product is relevant.”
