Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 18/02) - Northern furs are getting an aggressive pitch in the cut-throat women's wear game. Business will be lean and mean this season.

Profitability became a priority when Arctic Canada Trading Company acquired a new board of directors at its helm just more than a year ago. The company's changed philosophy coincided with its plunge into the fur trade. Arctic Trading used to be viewed by many as no more than government aid, but now things are different.

"We are using private-sector tactics to market Northern products into the south," said the company's Mark Wilson.

It was given a fur collection from the territorial government's Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Now it's pitching Northern fur designs in a very different, competitive mode.

The first step came when head office moved from a swanky, seventh-floor office in downtown Yellowknife's Northwestel Tower to a no-frills warehouse in the industrial Kam Lake area. Staff hauled the company's goods themselves and kept expenses down to $300.

The warehouse's bleak walls are crammed with fur and art. Baskets and muskox leather goods line the plain, grey shelves. But it looks like a serious and thriving work place, a place that means business.

And for furs, the focus is on sales. Namely, studying the market and giving it what it wants.

The change coincides with the fashion world's renewed interest in fur. One of Arctic Trading's test products is called Dene designs. It combines Dene beadwork and moose-hair tufting with fur.

"We are tagging along with the Western-wear theme," said Wilson. "We are doing something totally new for the Montreal fur show but that's a secret right now."

They've studied demographics and decided to aim at American women between 40 and 55. They are the ones with the cash. Last year Northern furs were shown museum-style at the giant Montreal fur show. The reaction from buyers was, "Ho-hum. That's nice." This year's intent is to take the furs to market and sell, sell, sell.

The changes are just part of a whole new way of thinking about the fur business. Northern pelts used to be sent straight to southern auctions, but the new game plan keeps fur trapping, designing, sewing and selling in the North. It could mean more jobs and more skills for the territories. To date there are very few people making ready-to-sell fur products in the NWT though, so it's imperative that orders are kept up for newly designed products.

For now the trapping and designing will be done in the North, but southern companies will manufacture the clothing. Wilson said every aspect of the plan has a backup.

"The key here is all eyes are on Arctic Canada. We have to be able to deliver on our promises," said Wilson.