1. 9/10/13 8:20 AMThe Geelong Advertiser
Page 1 of 2http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2013/10/09/374281_news_pf.html
Ready, woollen and able
Margaret Linley | October 9th, 2013
Ben Earl
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BEN Earl was sweating profusely and complaining about the heat when his brother offered him a woollen T-
shirt to put on.
"It was 40C and I didn't want to wear anything and he was offering me wool," Mr Earl said.
On went the T-shirt anyway, a fine Merino wool garment from Hedrena, a Geelong-based manufacturer.
"That experience completely changed the way I felt about the family business," Mr Earl said.
"I hadn't been paying much attention to the business and this helped me to start to understand the breathe-ability
and the wicking and everything that wool does naturally. Wool is multi-climatic."
Mr Earl's epiphany two years ago led to a change of career.
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He left his position in marketing in property development and took over the reins as chief operations officer at
Hedrena.
His parents, Hedley and Irena, had started the business in 1992 as a value-add to the fine Merino wool they were
growing on their Ocean Grove farm.
"It was a backroom operation with a couple of sewing machines and they made dressing gowns and blankets," the
31-year-old said.
"Since then we have really pushed the limits with what you can do with just Merino wool. We use no other fibre."
The wool used is Australian, from non-mulesed Merino flocks. With no spinners to do the work in Australia, the wool
is sent overseas to be spun, and is then knitted, cut and sewn in Geelong West.
The company headquarters, with a workforce of 26, is based at an unassuming timber building in Britannia St.
It looks more like an old scout hall than the manufacturing heart of a unique clothing line.
Mr Earl is focused on positioning attention on the sustainable lifestyle component of the story. His message is that
the product lines are investment pieces: durable, comfortable, easily cared for and dependable, and completely
biodegradable.
He said Hedrena' s customers aren't "picking and flicking", but rather choosing staple pieces that last for seasons
rather than weeks.
"The mass-market appeal of online shopping and fast fashion have pushed prices down and made fashion retail a
pretty tough place to be operating in," Mr Earl said.
"You need to know your own strength. We completely own our category of sustainable lifestyle wear. There is
absolutely room for mid-price, high-end products."
Positioning in the bricks-and-mortar space is a strategic decision for the family business, with stores in Melbourne's
Collins St, upmarket Glenferrie Rd in Malvern, a Sofitel Hotel presence in Sydney, along with St Ives, and also
Adelaide Arcade.
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