From brand to shop floor

Across the global retail sector, Woolmark is working at both ends of that equation – collaborating with brands to put wool in front of consumers, while giving retail staff the knowledge and confidence to tell its story.

During the past financial year, Woolmark delivered training to 54 brands and 2,292 retail staff, including both shop floor and back-of-house employees. Shop floor staff represented the largest participant group – putting wool education directly into the hands of the people having conversations with consumers every day.

In Australia, training has included staff from brands including Uniqlo, Austin Group – incorporating Perri Cutten, Cable and GAZMAN – and RB Sellars.

For woolgrowers, those conversations may happen a long way from the farm, but they are an important part of building understanding and demand for the fibre they produce.

Knowledge at the point of sale

A consumer considering a wool garment might have questions about everything from comfort and performance to garment care, durability and value.

That makes the knowledge of retail staff particularly important.

Woolmark’s retail education is designed to give staff an understanding of where wool comes from, what makes Merino wool unique and why designers and brands continue to choose the fibre.

It also provides practical information they can use in conversations with customers, including how to care for wool garments and how to address common questions and misconceptions about the fibre. That education is now being extended beyond face-to-face training.

From September, the Woolmark Learning Centre will offer a new one-hour short course specifically designed for shop-floor staff, making retail training available to more people, regardless of whether they can attend an in-person session.

The course has been developed as an extension of Woolmark’s face-to-face retail training and focuses on building the knowledge and confidence staff need to explain the benefits of wool products to customers.

Participants will learn about wool’s origins and the qualities of Merino wool, garment care and the long-term value of wool clothing and textiles, as well as examples of the innovative ways brands are using the fibre. On completion, participants will also receive a digital Credly badge, which can be shared through their professional channels.

The aim is simple: make wool education more accessible to the people who ultimately help consumers make purchasing decisions.

Face-to-face training will continue to play an important role. Woolmark recently delivered training at the RB Sellars national retail conference, for example, providing an opportunity to engage directly with staff from across the Australian retailer’s network.

Together, the face-to-face and digital approaches provide a way to extend wool knowledge through retail networks at scale.

From knowledge to collaboration

Retail education is one part of the picture. Working directly with brands to create and promote wool products is another. These collaborations help put wool into contemporary collections and categories, providing opportunities for consumers to see – and experience – the fibre in different ways.

One recent Australian example is the long-running relationship between Woolmark and Sportscraft, which has worked with Woolmark since 1964.

For Autumn/Winter 2026, that relationship was brought to the forefront through The Woolmark Series, evolving Sportscraft’s previous “Wool Series” into a campaign that put the Woolmark name and certification more prominently in front of consumers. Sportscraft has confirmed that more than half of its AW26 range was Woolmark-certified, representing more than 180,000 units of certified product.

The campaign extended well beyond the garments themselves. The Woolmark Series was promoted through retail windows and in-store displays, paid and organic social media, email, online content and influencer activity, creating multiple opportunities for consumers to encounter wool and the Woolmark brand.

In store, the campaign included a national window takeover across 47 Sportscraft stores, supported by Woolmark Series styling, certified-wool hero pieces and wool-care messaging at point of sale. The campaign also extended into David Jones, including a hero window at its Elizabeth Street Sydney store and digital screens across its network.

Online, dedicated Woolmark content attracted more than 16,000 sessions, while 8,000 product clicks were recorded from the womenswear Wool Series page. Paid social activity generated more than 388,000 impressions and 19,500 clicks during the reporting period.

Influencer activity took the wool story beyond the traditional retail environment. A one-night trip to Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands brought together six creators with a combined audience of almost 600,000, all styled in the AW26 Woolmark Series range. The activation generated 72 in-feed posts and stories and four long-form Reels, with paid amplification recording 82,700 impressions.

Importantly, the collaboration also translated into wool moving through the supply chain. Sportscraft has confirmed more than 37 tonnes of yarn consumption across its 2026 winter season, spanning 100% wool and wool-rich products.

The campaign’s top-selling lists were also dominated by familiar wool wardrobe staples. In womenswear, Merino cable sweaters and the Joyce Merino Wool Cardigan featured strongly across both retail and online sales, while Cable Quarter Zip and Merino Quarter Zip knits were among the leading menswear products.

For Australian woolgrowers, the connection between the two activities is important.

Brand collaborations help create opportunities for wool to reach consumers. Retail education helps ensure that when those products arrive in store, the people selling them understand the fibre and can confidently communicate its benefits.

From the development of a collection to the conversation at the shop counter, each step helps build knowledge of Australian wool – and ultimately supports demand for the fibre.

This article appeared in Issue 106 of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine that was published in September 2026. Reproduction of the article is encouraged and should be attributed as follows: This article was first published in Issue 106 of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine.