o-CNN: Catching up with Davey Hughes and Swazi in Taupo, New Zealand

Having Soul

How does it look when a brand has soul?

We recently met up with Davey Hughes and some of the Swazi Clan at the annual Sika Show in Taupo, New Zealand. We are nearing the end of our trip in New Zealand. Canada's winter is laying ahead of us. We needed to stock up on Swazi gear for the changing season.

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Swazi is an iconic apparel producer in New Zealand (one of the few left in the country, thanks to globalization and outsourcing to lower cost producing countries). We like to check in with Davey, the founder of Swazi to see what innovations he came up with to keep us warm and dry for the outdoors. He's been working recently on a jacket that is ideal for outdoor emergency changes in weather. It is something light and "high-tech" that will keep you dry when hiking and won't add a lot of weight to your pack. We saw firsthand how light and durable it is.

Swazi clothes are made in Levin, New Zealand. It’s made by a passionate group of people who live nearby. Their names are stitched into the inside of the collar. I don't know of any other clothes manufacturer that takes this much pride in encouraging people to be proud of the things they make.

Swazi's clothes last. The testimonials on their site and the many letters at their office are proof that people love their gear. Who's gear you may ask? Once you become the owner of a Swazi garment, it becomes part of you. It is that durable. Swazi clothes have soul like the people that conceived and make it.

Swazi gear might cost a few dollars more. But in 15 year's time when your shirt is looking a bit worse for wear, it will still give you faithful service. If it needs repair then Donna, who made it in the first instance, is likely still around to do it for you. For Davey, it is much more rewarding to watch people grow than to look at a bank balance grow. He mentioned on his website: "Bank balances just get bigger. People get better."

See our profile we did on Davey and his team earlier this year, here.

Davey also had a Canadian Moose on display (see photo below). We just had to get the story and stayed for his presentation of the hunt and pictures from the trip. How do we know it is a Canadian Moose? Because it came from the Yukon - our beautiful backyard.

By bringing the Moose to New Zealand, he gave many Kiwi children and adults, probably their only chance to ever see the real size and grandeur of these beautiful animals. We take our Moose for granted in the wilderness of Canada. In New Zealand, a country without much wildlife, it is the main attraction to an event.

Observations

The Swazi business is an innovative endeavour on several fronts. Davey is the brand of the company. His hunting and conservation stories make for excellent entertainment and drive core values of care for people and the environment. The stakeholders of the enterprise is a big and committed family. People love making the garments. Customers like wearing it and the story of the company is inspirational.

Swazi inspires as a typical local producer that is doing well weathering the storm of globalisation and cheap overseas manufacturing by focussing on his niche of outdoor apparel. They create a tonne of value for a community and customers. The company is leading the market in online retailing by exclusively selling directly to customers.

Lastly, but most importantly, the Swazi products are outstanding! You can get them here: www.swazi.co.nz.

Keep an eye out and let us know when you spot us in our Swazi gear. The first person that posts a photo of us on Facebook, in our branded Swazi Jackets will get a Swazi gift from the Two Cowboys. That is a promise!

Hendrik van Wyk
Swazi Clansman and Cowboy

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Photos

Moose on the... Stand

Keeping a Promise

Sock Hunting

Serious Business

Europe?

Two Cowboys: Customers are the Custodians of the Brand - Swazi, Levin, New Zealand

Outdoor Clothing Made in New Zealand - Swazi, New Zealand

(Learn: ** Inspire: *** Amaze: *** Live: ****)
(The Two Cowboys Subjective Rate-o-Meter.   )

Levin was New Zealand's fabric and garment manufacturing epicentre until the industry was decimated by companies moving their operations overseas. Headlines such as: "A New Zealand clothing company goes 'global' and shuts all local factories." became too familiar in this part of the world over the last decade.

"Swazi will never manufacture overseas!" Davey Hughes, the founder of Swazi, New Zealand stands proudly behind this statement and his commitment to making their products in the market, where they are the most recognised and respected. We’d get an ‘I LOVE MILEY’ tattoo before we’d manufacture in China!

Swazi is an outdoor clothing and niche garment manufacturer that is proudly making its products in Levin, New Zealand.  Swazi produce innovative and practical agricultural, hunting and outdoor leisure clothing, hand in hand with an assurance to make the voice of the outdoors heard by promoting adventure, hunting, conservation and a sense of responsibility among young people.

It’s made by a passionate bunch of people who live close by. So close, that many of them walk to work every day. For Davey and his team, it’s about community, something that’s easy to forget about if you have your product made on the other side of the world. Creating jobs for people who live in their town is pretty much the best community oriented thing they can do. It’s awesome to see people develop pride in what they do every day. It’s awesome to watch that pride spread through their families and whanau (family).

Impressions

It is initially hard to place Davey in his garment business.

Here is a hunter and trapper in a country of possums. Let's face it. Regardless of the country's breathtaking beauty (which everyone knows, thanks to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings), New Zealand is not really known for its animal wildlife, is it? What is a big game hunter doing there?

Davey is a rough outdoorsman, world traveller, and television personality, but with an unwavering commitment to the success of everyday people in an age-old and very competitive industry. He is in an industry that seems to have departed from New Zealand some time ago. That he makes garments and design clothes in Levin, is not something that comes to mind when you watch the fella trying to spear a Grizzly in the Canadian outback.

Not even the name "Swazi" fits. It is the name of an African people and tribe from Southern Africa, thousands of kilometres removed in the distance and in culture from Kiwiland.

Maybe, it is just this initial confusion and contrast that makes the Swazi story and its values so attractive and intriguing. There is a surprise around every corner!

Here is what stood out for us:

• Patriotism: While from Scottish lineage, Davey has an unwavering commitment to his country, New Zealand and its people. He demonstrates this with the loyalty to his workers and town, by continuing to manufacture in Levin even though the country's own Government decided to pass its production over in favour of manufacturing in China.
• Niche Product Innovation: Swazi's clothes stand out because it keeps people alive. Davey found a niche in outdoor garments because of the harsh climates people face working in the rain, snow, and wind. It is not only recreation clothes, but safety gear, high visibility gear, and even speciality suits that keep helicopter pilots from getting hypothermia. 
• Global Online Business: The majority of Swazi's products is sold online. This was bold, and some would consider risky move they made five years ago. It is paying off for the business. Products are shipped all over the world. It is no longer a local success story. It is a global one. More so, because five years ago there were still a lot of scepticism about selling apparel over the Internet. Today, people on every continent wear and love their Swazi gear they ordered online.
• The Brand: Davey's personal brand is probably the strongest selling point for Swazi. Not because of the hunter, adventurer and traveller persona. It is because of his down-to-earth honest and practical approach to overcoming life's obstacles, and the changes were thrown at him and his team. "Every change has an opportunity" is Davey's motto. He is the person you want to know when "chips are down". Because, when you have to rely on someone like many individuals rely on Swazi's clothes to keep them alive, you want to count on Davey. As we say in Canada: "He's got your back."

The most notable comment in the conversation with Davey is his acknowledgement that Swazi's brand is no longer his brand. "We are merely custodians now for our customers," Davey says that the customers of Swazi own the brand. They get married in it. Buried in it. All he and his team can do is not disappoint the loyal and the faithful.

It was an excellent adventure to spend a day with Swazi in Levin. We hope to be back for much more soon.

Hendrik van Wyk
Producer

Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers. Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys.

Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. 
All our earnings are applied back to covering our costs of marketing and promoting Producers and inspiring local communities. Please support us to bring you more (www.forwardthefavour.com)

Photos

The Original

Making Something

Missing Canada

Focus

Safety First

Creating Something New