Marketing premium suit brand in Japan

Paul Stuart is a major player in Japanese premium suiting products made from Merino wool, with annual sales of about A$60 million.

AWI CEO John Roberts says, although many of AWI’s marketing collaborations are aimed at taking advantage of the apparel trend towards casualisation, the company is also defending Australian wool’s traditional, high-volume markets through collaborations such as this one with Paul Stuart.

“Japan has the world’s oldest population, and the Japanese suiting market remains comparatively large, so it makes sense to develop collaborations with leaders in this apparel category,” John said.

“By collaborating with brands selling high volumes of premium wool apparel, we are applying upward pressure on the market for Merino wool which is delivering real value to Australian woolgrowers.

“As the northern hemisphere went into its autumn and winter season, this was the perfect time to remind consumers in Japan of Merino wool’s premium, natural benefits so that they keep wool front of mind when they are considering which garments to purchase.”

Campaign exceeded targets

Window and in-store displays at a Paul Stuart store in Tokyo, Japan, promoting premium Merino wool apparel.

The joint marketing campaign, which launched in November 2023, promoted nearly 30,000 Merino wool pieces including suits, jackets and coats, worth A$18.6 million in total retail value.

The two-month campaign exceeded expectations with sell-through 28% above target and sales value 12% above target.

The campaign, which had the theme ‘Dressed genuine in wool’, highlighted Merino wool’s position as a premium fibre and the quality of the apparel’s manufacture. It targeted affluent men and women mainly in their 40s and 50s through a combination of digital, social media and in-store marketing.

The campaign featured on the home page of the Paul Stuart website plus two dedicated landing pages where customers were guided through to Merino wool products on the brand’s e-commerce store for purchase. It also gained additional visibility through displays in 81 brick-and-mortar stores across Japan.

Further potential collaboration

Paul Stuart is an American brand licensed in Japan to the Sanyo Shokai Group, which is the ninth largest Japanese apparel group. Sanyo Shokai owns 20 brands with more than 700 stores and has annual sales of A$615 million.

It is anticipated that the success of the collaboration with Paul Stuart will lead to larger, multi-year promotions of Merino wool by some of Sanyo Shokai’s other brands in the future.

General Manager of Paul Stuart Operational Headquarters, Mr Susumu Sakurai, said the joint marketing campaign was a first for Paul Stuart.

“We had never conducted a sales promotion on the theme of wool before. It was a great opportunity for us to try out a wool sales promotion with The Woolmark Company’s suggestions and support,” Mr Sakurai said.

“We are once again grateful for The Woolmark Company’s cooperation. We hope to expand this initiative to other brands within the company in the future and implement wool sales promotion with The Woolmark Company over the medium to long term, which we hope will lead to improved sales and image for each brand of Sanyo Shokai.”

EC and Product Operation Manager of Paul Stuart, Mr Jun Takahashi, also said the company very much appreciated the wool promotion and contribution from The Woolmark Company.

“Paul Stuart is committed to high-quality wool fabrics from the historic weaving region of Bishu, mainly made from Australian wool, for both men's and women's wear, and has adopted it as a standard material. I believe we were able to strongly promote that recognition to consumers once again through this collaboration,” Mr Takahashi said.

“We would like to continue to promote the quality of wool as a brand in the future, for example by using the tools created through this collaboration in our shops.”

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