.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Runway models in Beijing and Hong Kong could soon adorn themselves with Northern fur if a new marketing initiative run by the territorial government is successful.

"The main motivation is with the economic downturn, we wanted to expand the market beyond our traditional market of Europe and the United States," said Bob McLeod, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Bob McLeod, right, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and Mark Downey, CEO of Fur Harvesters Auctions Inc., seen here at a fur show in 2008, have teamed up to bring the NWT to the runways of fashion hot spots in Asia. - photo courtesy of Francois Rossouw

The program, launched last month in Beijing, aims to encourage designers in the two emerging markets to pick skins sold under the government's "Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs from the Northwest Territories" label for their fur creations.

During the coming months, NWT furs will be showcased at fur and fashion tradeshows in both Chinese cities and at shows in one of the world's greatest fashion meccas, Milan.

"We put our product out there, and anybody that is in high fashion making sables or cat garments (will) see this is the type of product we have and they'll use it in their line up.

That's the plan," said Mark Downey, CEO of NWT fur marketing company Fur Harvesters Auctions Inc., which has worked with NWT furs for the past five years.

Downey's company, which markets fur from suppliers all over North America, travels to auctions all over the world. For the NWT, Downey mostly markets sable (Canadian marten), wolf, lynx and wolverine.

"Fur from the far North is no doubt considered the finest in the world. We're just trying to build on that reputation," added Downey.

NWT fur is largely considered high-quality because, unlike many other fur sources, it does not come from farmed animals.

"(The initiative) is educating the buyer, especially in the East in China and Hong Kong. They've been hit over the head for many years by ranch make. They (only) know the farmed animal - the farmed skins," said Francois Rossouw, who oversees fur marketing for the territorial government.

While Northern fur has been seen before in China, he said, the idea now is to really educate Chinese designers about what can be done with wild fur - and the Mackenize Valley brand, specifically.

Because NWT fur isn't sold until March auctions, Rossouw was unable to give 2009 sale numbers but said a slight decline is expected.

"But overall I think we will hold our own," he assured.

Downey said January auction numbers, which again did not feature NWT furs, showed a 20 to 30 per cent price drop.

"The fur industry has been around for hundreds of years, it has its peaks and valleys. This year is just like any year, you kind of take the good with the bad," he said.

Downey estimated fur from the territory would rake in "upwards of $1 million" at its next sale. Last year, fur trappers in the territory garnered $1.2 million in direct cash payments, a slight decline over 2007's earnings of $1.3 million.

More than 700 Northerners in the territory make a living by trapping, said Rossouw, adding fur harvest numbers are up this year. Trappers receive certain amounts of payment advance, like $65 per marten, with each fur handed over to the government to sell at auctions.

"In the years when the wage economy is not happening, especially in small communities, people go trapping. It's a nice form of income," he said.