'We wanted our kids to grow up here'

CAN DO: From Te Awanga, James and Amie Nilsson run the global distribution of Merino Kids. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND

Kiwis are renowned for travelling the world and seeking new adventures and Hawke's Bay people are no exception. Hawke's Bay Today put 5 questions to James Nilsson, who
founded global brand Merino Kids with wife Amie.

1 What are your links to Hawke's Bay?

As a six-generation farming family in the region, I grew up in the Haumoana/Te Awanga area and spent the majority of my schooling in the area. Swedish by descent, the Nilsson family has been farming sheep and beef after arriving by ship in 1873. Having farmed from Eketahuna through to the north of Wairoa, the current family farm is located above the coastal village settlement of Te Awanga with a focus on lamb, beef and wine production.

2 What did you do outside Hawke's Bay?

We started our main business, Merino Kids, in 2003 while living and working in Auckland. After picking up a few awards in the Deloitte Fast 50 and a number of local and international business design awards, we carried out some due diligence on the merits of driving the brand harder in the Northern Hemisphere where sales were steadily picking up. A decision by the board to establish an office in the UK as a beachhead into the local market as well as the European markets was made in mid-2008 and we moved the family to Hampshire in the UK to start building the brand in Europe at the end of that year.

3 Why did you return to Hawke's Bay?

With our three young children having spent the majority of their lives growing up in the UK, we were eager to ensure their more influential years were spent in NZ. Amie and I were fortunate to grow up near the east coast (Amie in North Canterbury and myself in Te Awanga) so once the UK business was up and running the idea of returning to Hawke's Bay as opposed to Canterbury or Auckland was based on family, schooling and a region with plenty to offer young families in a wonderful natural environment.

4 What do you do now?

We run the global distribution of Merino Kids from Hawke's Bay. This includes not only the management and sales of 10 international distributors but the design, product development and management here in our offices in Te Awanga. To do this requires plenty of time in front of a computer with various times of the day and night talking directly with our distributors mainly via Skype. Needless to say is the challenge of ensuring fast broadband speed.

We also run a separate wool-based business as well as an events venue at home called Cape Estate (www.cape-estate.com). Surrounded by 1000 acres of coastal farm, the surrounds can cater for business and private celebrations such as corporate team building and weddings.

5 What do you see for Hawke's Bay's future?

We see it as potentially being a fantastic hub for entrepreneurial business. Unfortunately HB has lost a number of the large producer-based industrial and commercial might that we once relied on for employment. We feel it's up to the next generation to create new opportunities for the future of Hawke's Bay. It's therefore up to the business leaders of today to make clever decisions with the development of HB in mind. If the infrastructure can be set up to ensure we can not only attract businesses but allow them to grow then HB could return to being one of the fastest-growing regions.