Count Zegna says "Yes" to Uamby marketing position

The CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna, the biggest brand in wool marketing, has publicly endorsed the "Uamby Position" on the crisis in the industry.
Count Paolo Zegna di Monterubello says urgent action is needed to save the wool industry. "Wool is in a very deep identity crisis," he told Stock and Land this week.
He agrees with Michael Kiely's position - outlined last week in The Land - that the youth market is wool's great opportunity.
"The younger generation have the most significant buying power," he said. "Unfortunately [wool] is not sufficiently promoted and doesn't speak to them in the right way."
Count Zegna echoed the Uamby Solution - using style-setters that youth follow "like sheep" to give wool garments visibility and appeal. He rejected the current AWI marketing direction which focusses on functional benefits of wool. "He says talk of the breathability of wool is unlikely to impress this market," says the report. "Rather celebrities and sports stars should be encouraged to wear wool garments, with an eye to garment appearance and style."
Zegna has lost faith in AWI's ability to market wool. He is calling for an extra levy to fund a marketing campaign run by the Italians. Count Zegna said he'd be happy to pay the levy because the Australian wool growers are spending too little on marketing. Other wool garment manufacturers would invest "if there is a marketing campaign that makes sense".
"According to Count Zegna, the few million currently invested in marketing is nowhere near enough to create a consumer interest in wool," reports Stock and Land.
This is a stinging indictment of AWI and a ringing endorsement of my position as outlined in The Land last week.