Wool Needs an Organised and Coordinated Marketing Strategy

Brussels, 27/09/2006

The Executive Committee of IWTO met last week in Milan, coinciding with Milano Unica – the huge trade fair where almost all of the world’s leading men’s wear designers, prestige brands and high quality fabric manufacturers come together to showcase their proposals for the collections for Autumn/Winter 2007/8.

Although there was an atmosphere of quiet optimism for the medium term, there was unanimous agreement amongst all present that wool cannot afford to rest on its laurels, and that the drive towards a well organized and coordinated marketing strategy for our fibre had to be maintained and strengthened.

Any discussion about wool marketing inevitably must lead to consideration of the views and direction towards which Australian wool growers wish to take their industry, and the current developments under weigh in the worlds leading wool producing country.

The final decision as to the quantum of any grower levy and the investment direction for the funds raised must be that of the growers themselves, however as both the wool grower’s customers and their partners in the transformation of raw material into finished product, IWTO members do have a very substantial stake in the final outcome.

Being also close to and in often direct touch with wool’s customers, they also have a lot to offer in the process. As a result current developments in the structure of the Australian wool bodies are being followed with great interest and concern as to the outcome.

IWTO strongly supports the proposed merger of AWI and AWS, always provided that this ensures an equality of balance as between R&D and Marketing. This equality must be shown in both investment of management and resources and of the funds employed, and last but not least in the culture of the organization.

There are skills and talents in both organizations that must not be wasted, indeed should be encouraged to blossom, just as there is inevitably room for cost reduction through rationalization of activities and the removal of duplication.

In recent months we have noted and welcomed the increasing and improving relationship between AWI and IWTO and a mutual appreciation that we share exactly the same final goal – that of the redevelopment of a prosperous wool industry.

We have not always agreed about the best path towards that goal, but diversity of view should not be a barrier to progress, in fact should it should help to ensure that the progress is sound.

We note that Dr Len Stephens will be leaving AWI by the end of the year, and will be replaced by a new CEO with a background oriented towards a new AWI emphasis on marketing.

Whilst we must support the AWI board’s direction in making this decision, we would like to put on record our appreciation of the effort and contribution made by Dr Stephens during his time at AWI. We particularly appreciated his presence and enthusiasm in New York this month at the flowering of the major IWTO/AWI joint venture – the Test Marketing Project. We wish him every success in the future.

Michael Lempriere,
President, IWTO
president@iwto.org