Newspaper Article 2011 – Business finds a solid foothold in socks

Business finds a solid foothold in socks

By Christine McKay

PUTTING their best foot forward, a Norsewood company is bucking the trend of business doom and gloom – with socks.

Securing a major order to supply socks to 90 PGG Wrightsons nationwide is a coup for the Kiwi Sock Company in Norsewood.

“This is a fairly significant order for us,” Kiwi Sock general manager Wayne Russell told the Dannevirke News.

“We’re very pleased to have landed an order like this and my sales manager, Chris Anderson, has been working hard to secure it.”

There are 18 staff employed at the Lower Norsewood factory and Mr Russell said the new PGG Wrightson order could potentially see another staff member taken on.

“We’ve worked hard at it, but at the end of the day, PGG Wrightson realised that this is what their customers want – the traditional range of Norsewood socks – and that’s what business is all about – what the customer wants.”

The Kiwi Sock Company is owned jointly by Mr Russell, Dannevirke-community owned lines company Scanpower, and John Hughes of the Manawatu Knitting Mills.

Lee Bettles, the chief executive of Scanpower, said winning the PGG Wrightsons contract was another success for the sock company.

“We’ve been building our market share and now have a large rural base, but we’ve got a number of other significant customers as well. The success is really testimony to the management of the company by Wayne (Russell),” Mr Bettles said.

“He’s a recognised expert in the field and Chris Anderson has scored a really great result with the PGG Wrightson deal.”

Mr Bettles said the Kiwi Sock Company was constantly looking for new markets here and overseas.

“The global market is huge and we’ve got product going into a number of overseas countries, with the potential for even more growth,” he said.

“Securing PGG Wrightson as a major customer has been no mean feat, taking 18 months of hard work, Mr Russell said.

“PGG Wrightson realise what an impact the Norsewear brand has in their stores. And Chris and I have demonstrated our willingness to meet their expectations by having sales reps in the Wrightson stores talking to managers, so the company could see the Kiwi Sock Company was committed to supporting the product,” he said. “Before the deal was sealed we had to first of all prove that we could do what had to be done, at store level. When the Kiwi Sock Company first began it was somewhat of a pipe dream to have a major customer like Wrightsons. Now it’s come to fruition.” The Kiwi Sock Company also manufacture and supply all the socks for the New Zealand Defence Force, for the Department of Conservation and St John, along with half of the sock requirements of the New Zealand Police.

One of their major domestic contracts is to supply socks for the Department of Corrections, something Mr Russell estimates to be around 25,000 pairs of socks.

“We’re very fortunate to have these high volume government contracts, it gives the business a sound, broad base,” he said.

And while the overseas markets were building, Mr Russell said his first goal as general manager was to consolidate the business with a strong domestic market.

“I believe it’s more important to have a smaller, sound domestic business, rather than a risky export one,” he said.

“But we had had huge inquiries from overseas, this year.”

Higher wool prices are having a major effect on the business, Mr Russell said.

“Wool fibre prices to the farmer have nearly doubled and at the moment we’re having to absorb that cost.”

Mr Russell is also having to contend with successive governments, who, he says, don’t recognise how important small manufacturing businesses are to our economy.

“I don’t believe they have any respect for the New Zealand manufacturer.”

Photo caption – WOOLLY:   Wayne Russell, the general manager and co-owner of Norsewood’s Kiwi Sock Company.   PHOTO/CHRISTINE MCKAY

Got you covered

The Kiwi Sock Company knows a thing or two about socks.

They’re the people behind some of New Zealand’s most popular sock brands and have been manufacturing socks in Norsewood for more than 40 years.

And they’ve got you covered from head to toe, with socks, gloves, hats and scarves.

The company manufactures and distributes Norsewear brands as well as producing socks for its own brands, including 70 Mile Bush and Duthie and Bull.

The Norsewood factory operates five days a week, from 5am to 10.30pm – 17-and-a-half hours a day in the peak season and 12 hours in the off season, employing 18 staff from Waipukurau, Norsewood and Dannevirke.