US tariffs boost NZ wool carpet export opportunity

Chairman of carpet maker Bremworth, Rob Hewett, told Rural News that, thanks to the tariffs, suddenly NZ wool carpets have become cost competitive in the lucrative market.

He says Bremworth is now talking to its agents in North America about boosting sales.

"Suddenly North America has become very attractive for NZ wool carpets," he says.

US tariffs of 50% on goods from India - which includes a 25% penalty for Dehli's refusal to stop buying oil from Russia - took effect two weeks ago. India's carpet exports in the last financial year were valued around $187 million. Of this, 60% was exported to the US and 40% to European countries.

Hewett says Bremworth will focus on wool carpet and not synthetic carpet when it comes to exports to North America.

"NZ wool carpet is internationally a very niche product. In the US, they make thousands of metres of synthetic carpets every day. One company makes the same amount of synthetic carpet in a week that Bremworth makes in a year."

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Meanwhile, Hewett says Bremworth is talking to interested parties as part of its strategy review and "nothing is on or off the table". This includes outside investors taking a stake in the listed company.

Unaudited financial results for the year ending June 30, 2025, show Bremworth's revenue reached $90 million, compared to $80m the previous year. It recorded a normalised EBITDA loss of $13.2 million, compared to $4.7m in 2024. After considering one-off items including insurance claims, restructuring costs and provision for an onerous contract, Bremworth recorded a net profit after tax of $18.2m.

Hewett became chair of Bremworth in March this year after a shareholder-initiated takeover. He says shareholders weren't happy with the business.

"Since then, we've done everything to get costs under control; we're generally happy with the way things are going."

Hewett says an announcement on the outcome of the strategic review "isn't too far away".

Chief executive Craig Woolford said FY25 had been a tough year against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment, with consumer demand remaining subdued across key markets.

"Our carpet business has continued to face headwinds, with weaker volumes and margin pressures weighing on performance.

"However, we are taking clear steps to reset the business, including a $6 million investment to expand production at our Napier plant. This project will restore full domestic yarn capacity, significantly reduce lead times and create new jobs in Hawke's Bay while also reducing yarn input costs and improving quality.

Bremworth chief executive Craig Woolford

"At the same time, we are strengthening our sales capability by adding more sales representatives in both New Zealand and Australia and changing the way we engage with our retail partners.

"Sales management are taking a more active role in understanding how we can better service our retailers and to work collaboratively with them to make it much easier to do business with Bremworth."

In New Zealand, the increased sales representation will see an increase in headcount from the current five to seven and in Australia from the nine to 14 as part of Bremworth's re-focus on sales.