Furore as Kāinga Ora rules out wool carpets
State housing provider, Kāinga Ora’s decision to rule out the use of wool carpets in social housing has been described as a slap in the face by sheep farmers.
The brand name change follows the 50% acquisition of the Elders New Zealand business by South Island based Carr Group.
The business will be identified as CP Wool in the market and will be underpinned by Carrfields
Primary Wool is a play on the Carr Group transition to Carrfields which will roll out from July 2015.
Primary Wool Cooperative, the other 50% shareholder in the Elders Primary Wool business is represented by the Primary Wool reference.
"Elders Primary Wool is an iconic player in the New Zealand wool market both locally and on the global stage. Whist we are changing our brand name, we will not be making any changes to the business structure it is today,'" said Elders Primary Wool Chairman, Stu Chapman.
"We will continue to grow and strengthen our position across the wool value chain – we have a good stable of businesses under the Elders Primary Wool umbrella which CP Wool can carry forward.
"I am confident the brand change will herald the next chapter in the growth of our New Zealand wool business for both cooperative members and our clients," said Primary Wool Cooperative chairman, Bay de Lautour.
"We are in a solid position for growth across the whole business," he says.
"The change to CP Wool will align with the change across other parts of our own business to Carrfields," says Carr Group managing director, Craig Carr. "We are looking forward to a unified brand in the market and will continue to focus on growth and diversification within the industry," he said.
The Elders Primary Wool business will transition to CP Wool from September 2015. There will be no change to Elders Primary Wool businesses Wool Exports NZ, NZ Yarn and Just Shorn which will continue to operate under their distinct brand names.
