Saxon sheep man in $100m wool deal

Escorial has battled to get Saxon sheep differentiated from general merinos (above). Photo / Sarah Ivey

A wool marketing company says it has a $100 million deal with leading United States retailer Brooks Brothers.

Peter Radford, managing director of The Escorial Company, says the wool will be sold under a continuing agreement at 260 Brooks stores specialising in high fashion apparel.

It was a huge deal for New Zealand fine wool producers, with a value to suppliers at the farm gate of $22/kg, he said.

"This is two and a half times the current price for 17-18 micron wool paid to growers."

The Brooks deal showed New Zealand-grown wool had greater economic potential than many wool industry leaders acknowledged.

The wool is sent for processing to a leading Italian fabric maker, Loro Piana, before going to the United States for use in clothing.

Mr Radford began a battle with the now-deregulated Wool Board in 1998 to have the wool of "Saxon" sheep differentiated from the general merino classification.

He said last week that one company, Saxmere, had fought long and hard to overturn the traditional commodity approach to wool sales, and that branded product differentiation in world markets was proving the best way forward.

The US deal was the first of several global agreements to be announced for suits, jackets, sweaters, ties and scarves over the next year.

- NZPA