Fairydown clothing brand comes in from the cold

The Fairydown outdoor clothing name - which disappeared from New Zealand shelves after Australian men said it was not blokey enough - has relaunched itself.

The brand was renamed Zone in September 2003 because market research told the company the "fairy" in the name did not appeal to the blokey Aussie male who thought it had homosexual connotations.

But yesterday the Fairydown brand was relaunched, with chief executive Mary Devine saying the company had had a change of heart after pressure from retailers and consumers.

Fairydown was also looking at new markets in Britain and Japan where she said the brand name would help.

However she decided not to comment on whether males customers in Britain and Japan were more comfortable with their sexuality than men in Australia.

She did say that comments made by Australians were not something the company had to worry about in the new markets.

She said the brand was well associated with hardy outdoor clothing and equipment used by the likes of Sir Edmund Hillary when he conquered Mt Everest.

"It's a brand that's built in the outdoors and it has to be recognised as a very hardy outdoor New Zealand brand."

She said the company had come up with new marketing ploys which would help Australian men to feel more comfortable with the brand - "through the position of the brand and the advertising of it".

"It will be a lot more comfortable for those who were concerned about having a fairy on their garment."

She said several Australian retailers had turned up to yesterday's launch and were happy with the resurrection of the Fairydown name.