OMG he needs a suit. Really hon?
As I took a call from Thailand asking me to jump on Skype, my son, Edward wanted to run something past me. Is this the Skype that we were on yesterday? Where the audio is stuffed at your end and whenever I speak you ask me to keep it down so the whole resort of overweight Americans doesn't hear me? Yep! But we can type… so we start. He needs a suit, wait for it… for weddings and funerals (let’s hope there’s not too many of the latter) and he needs my advice (and some of my hard earned cash). “Of course it is much better to buy it in Thailand as it will fit PERFECTLY!” he types. “So style, Mum, what are your thoughts?”
“Check out the celebrity men at the Oscars,” I suggest. Up comes the link… Ouch, it’s Bradley Cooper. I fixate… “Love the fit of his suit,” I type back. “Really Mum... get a grip. We are looking at suit styles and I really need your help here, rather than your humour.” So a few minutes of serious trolling of the blokes on the red carpet and I am still keen on the Bradley suit style and I suggest it’s a goodie regardless. “But haven't you only got a day to go?” I ask. “How long does it take to make these suits?” “Oh they are an incredibly reputable business; the concierge said. They will send to New Zealand.” “Really? The concierge said they will send to NZ?” I fleetingly wonder how much skin he has in this game and then decide that the $300 price tag won’t break by bank and sanction the deal but not before suggesting that Hallensteins do an excellent suit; albeit not NZ made (I’ve just seen their last advert on the cover of the Sunday mag in the NZ Herald). “We can at least bring it home with us at point of sale,” I offer. “Na, won’t fit like this.” And the conversation is over.
Well he's home now with suit in tow and I am waiting for a picture… “Might need a few alterations,” he says. Perhaps a bit more time might have been a good thing I think. Yep, possibly would have been easier to make his virgin suit purchase locally; maybe even splurge on a Murray Crane edition and show we support the whole NZ made campaign and the local design industry… isn't that what I would want our customers to do???
So how important is NZ made? It certainly became a heated platform for Sam, my daughter and I the other night as we sat in Symths bar in Auckland enjoying a bevy before we attended the NZ Fashion Festival including a section with our label.
“Hon, I think I might have to take the Chameleon Dress offshore and look at another source of manufacture. I’m unsure that we can keep up with demand especially with the huge international expo season that we have ahead of us.” “Don't be ridiculous,” she said. “That dress is the golden egg in your collections. It is sooooo important that it is NZ made. I’m sure there are plenty of NZ manufacturing plants that you could give the work to. Think about it Mum. And what about those huge stickers you have across all of your retail store windows… 100% NZ made!”
Point taken… let’s move on and quickly. My daughter has suddenly become me… Ouch!
And whilst NZ Made it is a focus and an important part of our brand story I know from some of the research that we have done with our customer base that in so many cases price will come before country of manufacture. As one women said to me (and I guess this pretty much sums up how most people think) “Yep, I would always go for the NZ made product as long as it the same price as the Chinese version.” I mean, how the hell do we make sense of that!
Well he's home now with suit in tow and I am waiting for a picture… “Might need a few alterations,” he says. Perhaps a bit more time might have been a good thing I think. Yep, possibly would have been easier to make his virgin suit purchase locally; maybe even splurge on a Murray Crane edition and show we support the whole NZ made campaign and the local design industry… isn't that what I would want our customers to do???
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| Bradleys Suit |
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| Edward Suit |
So how important is NZ made? It certainly became a heated platform for Sam, my daughter and I the other night as we sat in Symths bar in Auckland enjoying a bevy before we attended the NZ Fashion Festival including a section with our label.
“Hon, I think I might have to take the Chameleon Dress offshore and look at another source of manufacture. I’m unsure that we can keep up with demand especially with the huge international expo season that we have ahead of us.” “Don't be ridiculous,” she said. “That dress is the golden egg in your collections. It is sooooo important that it is NZ made. I’m sure there are plenty of NZ manufacturing plants that you could give the work to. Think about it Mum. And what about those huge stickers you have across all of your retail store windows… 100% NZ made!”
Point taken… let’s move on and quickly. My daughter has suddenly become me… Ouch!
And whilst NZ Made it is a focus and an important part of our brand story I know from some of the research that we have done with our customer base that in so many cases price will come before country of manufacture. As one women said to me (and I guess this pretty much sums up how most people think) “Yep, I would always go for the NZ made product as long as it the same price as the Chinese version.” I mean, how the hell do we make sense of that!
I suppose it follows suit with the free range thing where so many will say, ‘Yep, I buy free range eggs’ but don't give a second thought to whether the muffin they have just gulped down used them. I guess I will just have to be grateful for baby steps and trust that my own crusade to see a world where all animals are farmed with integrity will someday pay off.
Failing that I can always take the Lucy Lawless approach and strap my self to the side of a henhouse. I wonder if I’d get as much media coverage…
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