British Wool in China

Domotex August 2020

British Wool in China

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 British Wool have continued their making really good progress working on a number of exciting new product projects and we look forward to continuing to do so as really seemed to buy into the British style branding and the fact that wool has so many amazing benefits in the sleep arena. The expansion into the Chinese the market gets back to some sort product even managed to win an market. Graham Clark, Director of normality.” award at the Luolai Group (Lovo’s of Marketing, explains, “China A new British Wool bedding parent company) annual review. remains one of the largest collection was launched in the We look forward to working with potential growth areas for our 2019/20 season with the leading Lovo to help grow this range and business. Along with the majority on-line Chinese brand Lovo, Clark develop further new products in of businesses, clearly COVID-19 continued. “In the first season the future.” has disrupted our plans; however, alone we sold a staggering 30,000 The British Wool licensee scheme before the pandemic hit we were duvets. The Chinese consumer is also starting to gain momentum

Lovo product launch

and recently welcomed 3 leading brands from the carpet sector on board: Haima, Shanhua and Shengyuan. All passed the scheme that traces the origin of the wool back to the UK and were promoted on the British Wool stand at this year’s Domotex show. Clark commented “It is great to have such prestigious and well-known brands on board with the scheme, and we look forward to working with them all moving forward to help increase sales and demand for British wool in China and further afield.” The Chinese Office also welcomed a new member of staff, with Rui He joining as Marketing Co-ordinator. Sandy Mi, Sales & Marketing Manager in China, commented, “As part of our growth in China we are keen to establish a presence on relevant social media platforms and Rui’s experience in this area will allow us to do just that. As well as helping to grow the British Wool brand amongst consumers it will also act as an excellent platform to add value to our licensees, something we did with the Lovo project.” British Wool now has active platforms on WeChat, Weibo and Small Red Book with followers steadily increasing on a weekly basis.

Clark concluded, “As the Chinese market continues to recover we want to ensure we are at the forefront of this recovery, working with likeminded brands to drive demand for British wool and ultimately giving better returns to our producers (farmers) for their wool.”

Aston Martin DBX SUV available with Australian wool in its interior

Aston Martin and the license to thrill

Luxury car manufacturer such a high content of wool and Aston Martin has entered has attained the Wool Rich Blend the luxury SUV segment, certification from The Woolmark with its award-winning Company. As well as being very DBX model. The DBX interior is environmentally sustainable it is available with Woolmark-certified also highly durable and naturally fabric made from Australian wool. water repellent.” DBX interior is fitted out with many natural material options including an 80% natural wool blend car seat covers, centre consoles, and door and instrument panels. Aston Martin promotional information states “the material is made with carded yarns from fine Australian lambswool that are mixed with synthetic fibres to create a luxurious felt-like fabric. It is the first automotive fabric with Aston Martin used the Woolmark logo in its marketing collateral for the DBX.

It is not the only luxury car brand to introduce wool in its interiors. BMW uses wool in its i3, Range Rover uses wool in its Evoque and Velar, and Toyota uses wool in its Century. Bentley uses wool in its Mulliner, as well as its State Limousine which is an official state car for the Queen.

Source: AWI Beyond the Bale