NORTHERN hemisphere leisure enthusiasts looking for clothing might find the word Merino imprinted on tags more frequently since it became one of the hottest talking points at last month’s giant International trade fair for sporting goods and sports fashion, ISPO, at Munich.
Merino has been described as the “new black” of the German trade show with innovative Merino performance products starting to penetrate the competitive market.
The outdoor market is still many years away from making its mark at the wool auction floor.
But at least one wool promoter is suggesting Merino has made its mark in the competitive sector.
Australian Wool Innovation’s global manager sports/outdoor Lars Ulvesund said the move by manufacturers this year to include the word Merino in advertising material demonstrated the growing pull it had in the market place.
The global manager said the increased use of Merino was also evident at the Outdoor Retailer fair in Salt Lake City and the Snow Show in Denver.
He said not only was Merino being used in the latest next-to-skin and second layer garments but companies were experimenting with wool.
Market leader, North Face had used Merino wool in its latest backpack range and Spanish company Buff, had incorporated it into its headwear sector.
“We are in a very competitive market here but the natural advantages such as breathability, next-to-skin comfort and technical performance of Merino wool are increasingly being recognized in this important garment sector,” Mr Ulvesund said.
When asked when increased demand from this sector is likely to lead to increased competition at the wool selling stage, he said it was difficult to say and depended on the development of the sports market globally.
“What the industry does achieve through initiatives such as this is a new young user group and a new market for wool, a better market share for wool and importantly, we get customers to realise how comfortable and functional wool is,” Mr Ulvesund said.
Similarly The Merino Company’s communications manager Felicity McDonald said at Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics outlook conference in Canberra last week that feedback from her team surrounding wool’s popularity from ISPO was that “Merino was the new black”.
ISPO attracted, 64,000 visitors from 117 countries, its highest number or visitors and a sign of the “trust that business is growing again,” according to Mr Ulvesund.
In fact, Swiss company Apaini’s Petra Gutmann said a lot of customers were asking for Merino products.
“They are convinced of the quality and technology,” Ms Gutmann said.
Similarly United States retailer Mark Galbraith, from outdoor company NAU, said: “Merino works so well for us right now we don’t even bother thinking about using synthetic fibres.”
Pushing the merits of Australian wool via its characteristics should bare well for the fibre if 2009 consumer resulted from the European Outdoor Group are anything to go by.
It found quality came out as the top reason for purchasing for 98per cent of respondents and 96pc of those surveyed confirmed that past experience influenced their buying decisions.
The Merino wool going into these outdoor garments ranges from 16.5-19.5 micron.
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