The Great Wool Debate

I paid up the first WPI share call, rather unhappily, as like most sheep-farmers, my operation's not flush with fiscal wriggle room at the moment. (I did so mostly because the local co-op woolstore was one of the first to sell out to WPI).
I don't particularly believe in the concept either. Even if we owned the whole national supply chain, we'd still only be a supplier, and up for the screwing that business model gurus as long past as Michael Porter said is the first port of call (the supplier) for belt tightening processors and further along the line consumers.
I'll come back to this later.
Further, why are we having to buy the assets of Wools of NZ?
I thought that got established with our money in the first place, and OK, if it is part of the deal, who's going to get the proceeds......, us?
Or is it going to stay with WPI/WNZ to fund further market development?
Or, just where is it going?

Also, we have to accept, the exporters have got their act together better with promotion.
More particularly, the Elders/Primary Wool combine have made a magnificent effort with Just Shorn since dis-establishment of the Wool Board, and WSI have worked hard to establish Purelana as well.

But back to business models.....
I thought the most significant comments of recent weeks have come from Robert Pratt, former MD of ElcoWool, and a director of Cavalier Corp. His vision of vertical integration, all strong wool going into the production of Cavalier carpets, was the right idea, we make the stuff here, export it round the world.
Unfortunately he says, Cavalier weren't up for/to it.
More profound than this, was a concept promoted over 40 years ago by Jim Rowe, then Director of the NZ Institute of Economics, who said we should buy Courtaulds, the largest European synthetic manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer, lock stock and barrel 60 million pounds, (at the time the NZ Wool Board was holding over 90 million pounds in the grower reserve account ex the WWII payout). Courtaulds annual fibre output was greater than the total NZ wool clip which at that time came off 70 odd million sheep.
Think about what we could have done with that.....

Anyway, back to Pratt......
Like WSI do, he claims suppliers were very happy with the prices they were getting, but I dunno....
I tried dealing with both ElcoDirect and WSI, but there was a constant pussy foot around paying me just below current auction value, so I think there are a lot of those suppliers deluding themselves about the values they achieve. The logistics of getting my wool to either of these outfits was the final straw, and I went back to the local co-op.

Seriously, the move by farmers to private buyer, away from the auction system, simply undermined the main determinant of value. You can blame exporters for shooting the market in the foot if you like, but I think farmers did it all themselves by deserting the auction and giving them that power.

Joke of the summer I'll award to John Thorley, Chairman of the Campaign for Wool who promises that ".....once within the fold, there will be fair and equal opportunities for all members to operate and use campaign resources."
WPI have copped some stick for not being on board, but didn't I read somewhere that WoolsNZ were, so indirectly we were.
If WPI dosent fly, it'll be the business as usual we've become accustomed to.

I think I'm coming round to being a more aggressive WPI supporter.
Its them or us.