Woolmark and Michell collaborate in Korea

Established in 1996, Shinsegae International is one of South Korea’s major fashion, beauty and lifestyle companies, with annual sales revenue worth A$1.5 billion in 2023. As well as distributing global fashion brands – including the likes of Giorgio Armani, Stella McCartney and Paul Smith – Shinsegae International has six of its own fashion brands. It operates a large network of stores nationwide as well as the premier digital commerce platform in Korea for luxury products, S.I. Village. 

For the autumn/winter 2024 season, Woolmark is collaborating with Shinsegae International to promote the Merino wool products of four of its six domestic brands: Studio Tomboy, VOV, ILAIL and G-CUT. The womenswear brands are positioned as premium in the market and highly influential among fashion-forward customers in their 20-30s. Together, the brands have more than 200 flagship and outlet stores which bring in about 70% of their revenue, with the remainder being via online sales. 

The collaboration also includes Michell Wool Pty Ltd, Australia’s oldest and largest exporter of Australian wool fibre. Headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, Michell Wool is a sixth generation family company that has been associated with the international wool textile industry for more than 150 years. In this three-way collaboration, Michell Wool has supplied the wool for approximately two thirds of the brands’ wool garments and also helped supply content for the marketing campaign.  

Campaign promotes Australian wool 

The joint marketing campaign with the Shinsegae International brands rolled out in October. Across all four brands, there are approximately 90 different 100% wool or wool blend products being sold, with a total of about 45 tons of wool used. All the products are Woolmark certified. 

Under the theme ‘Timeless wool, generations of warmth’, the campaign educates consumers about not only the long-lasting premium quality of Merino wool for the autumn/winter season, but also the value and heritage of the fibre’s Australian origin. 

The content of the campaign demonstrates to consumers the journey that Merino wool takes from Michell Wool in Australia to Woolmark supply chain partners Samwon Ilmo and Daekwang Textiles in South Korea where it is spun into yarn, before being transformed into the wide range of garments by the four brands.  

“This collaboration is the brainchild of William Kim, Shinsegae’s CEO. Real proof of quality and value can be hard to find, so the mix of Michell’s 154 years’ experience and our supply partners Daekwang and Samwon, both with Woolmark’s stamp of approval and its support for the execution of the marketing campaign was a solution waiting for the question,” said David Michell, owner and Executive Director of Michell Wool. 

The campaign also emphasises the eco-credentials and benefits of Merino wool – including softness, temperature regulation, elasticity, odour and stain resistance, and easy care – and that the Woolmark label ensures that the apparel products have been rigorous tested for quality, thereby providing customers with confidence in their purchase.

As well as in-store point-of-purchase and window displays, a digital, video and social media campaign focusses on driving traffic to a landing page on the S.I. Village retail platform. This is achieved through sponsored ads on Instagram, YouTube and Kakao Talk Plus Friend (the most widely used messenger in Korea), a home page banner, and an app push to 2.17 million of Shinsegae International’s customers.  

Additional marketing content was created separately by each brand. 

AWI Regional Manager Japan & Korea, Samuel Cockedey says the collaboration with Shinsegae International is a reflection of Woolmark Korea’s focus on premium brands with large volumes.  

“Shinsegae International is a major Korean fashion group and, through this collaboration, we aim to increase awareness and significant sales of Australian Merino wool womenswear apparel during the cold autumn/winter season,” Samuel said. 

“By building a close and successful relationship with Shinsegae International this year, we aim to secure them as a long-term partner and encourage them to develop more Merino wool products for later seasons.  

“The highly visible and successful roll out of the promotion could also influence other major fashion groups in Korea to increase their focus on retailing wool products and might lead to business development for Woolmark.” 

The four brands in the campaign 

Studio Tomboy 

Studio Tomboy blends quality with comfort to create boundary-breaking clothing. The brand has this season increased the proportion of wool in its outerwear pieces, including coats, jackets and jumpers, to make them lighter and more luxurious. As part of the brand’s promotion, Korean top model Kim Na Young featured the Merino wool collection on her YouTube channel which has more than 800,000 followers. 

Studio Tomboy’s in-store promotional displays highlighting the origin of the fibre used in the collection. 

G-CUT 

G-CUT breaks away from the cute femininity of existing young casual brands to create products with a refined, contemporary, French chic. For this season, G-CUT has launched a range of wool products with classy, feminine silhouettes and designs. As part of the brand’s promotion, influencer @mulbada (who has 417,000 followers on Instagram) flew to Australia to create a video for G-CUT capturing the beauty of Sydney and the benefits of Merino wool. 

G-CUT’s window display and the promotion featuring influencer @mulbada in Sydney. 

VOV (Voice of Voices) 

VOV has grown into a leading womenswear brand selling chic and modern styles. As part of the VOV’s promotion of this season’s Merino wool collection, the brand collaborated with film director Youkim to create a sophisticated video titled ‘The next 30 years in wool’ in which she discussed sustainable fashion and how wearing wool can make a difference for the planet.  

A VOV promotional window display and the opening shot from the VOV sustainability video. 

ILAIL 

ILAIL is a premium knitwear brand for contemporary women seeking comfort and style. This season the brand expanded its range of premium wool knitwear to include crewneck cardigans and knitted jumpers made from 100% Australian Merino wool. For the first time, the brand has also introduced a children’s line, using premium Merino wool. As part of the promotion, influencer @suesasha (who has 250,000 followers on Instagram) shared memorable moments of her two daughters wearing Merino wool garments. 

ILAIL’s in-store promotional displays and a popular Instagram post of influencer @suesasha and her children wearing ILAIL’s new Merino wool range. 

This article appeared in the December 2024 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.