Australian Government Gregory Wren / Michael Hewitt-Gleeson Canberra, Melbourne, New York, Milan, London Challenge: Adapt domestic production facilities for luxury export goods |
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Recognizing that an increasing number of Australian manufacturers were producing products that were undesired by Australians, as well as being impossible to export, the government decided to take action with an unprecedented strategic initiative. |
Companies that previously made heavy unstylish work boots, were transformed into manufacturers of elegant "European" slippers, belts, handbags, and leather pack-and-travel accessories. |
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ConsuLuxe was engaged to develop a program to work with select manufacturers and help them create products in a broad range of categories that would appeal to the sensitivities of consumers in other countries. This required first assessing production equipment and capabilities, labor skills, and owner/management enthusiasm. |
Wines were re-packaged and positioned for export; simple canned foods became "gourmet specialties" in beautiful glass jars; generic textiles evolved into luxurious home furnishings, apparel and fashion items. | |
A select scope of categories was established to include leathers of Kangaroo, Emu, Ostrich, Crocodile, fine wools, rare woods, hand-crafted glass, artisan metalwork, and other indigenous resources. Each participating company had its work with ConsuLuxe subsidized with federal funding. |
It was then very easy to establish strong new export markets for these sophisticated products - Japan, the USA, Duty-free Worldwide, and even into European territories with previously unsatisfied expectations regarding style and quality. |
