Wools of New Zealand has recruited seven wool carpet retailers to form the Premier Partner Advisory Council. Members are: Paul Chapman, ABC Carpets, New York City; Wyoma Craghead, CDC, Austin, Texas; Peter DiPaola, Cornell Carpets, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.; Brett Hemphill, Hemphill's Rugs and Carpets, Costa Mesa, Calif.; Steve Lewis, Lewis Floor and Home, Chicago; Sam Presnell, The Rug Gallery, Cincinnati; and Steve Wilson, Synergy, Denver.

The Premier Advisory Council intends to take an active role, according to Hemphill. “We discuss ideas together and work with Wools of New Zealand to launch programs that best benefit the wider group. One such idea resulted in Wools of New Zealand's partnership with Miele vacuums. Through this program, Premier Partners get exclusive coupons that they can give their wool customers. Right now, we are working with Wools of New Zealand, and several of their mill partners to create Premier Exclusives, which are proprietary products that further differentiate our stores.”

Retailers in the Wools of New Zealand Premier Program are offered special programs designed to differentiate their showrooms. “Premier Partners are 'showrooms of excellence',” said Lewis. “They are luxury flooring stores that understand wool and are committed to educating their staff and supporting their customers with exceptional service and installation.”

“Wools of New Zealand is really listening to our needs and responding with many small pluses that add up to make a big difference,” Presnell noted. “Some of the exclusive Premier Partner advantages include sales incentives, promotional pricing, Wool Specialist training and aggressive credit card processing rates. Premier Partners are also the sole participants of Wool for a Better World—a sale event being held in November—and will soon benefit from exclusive product introductions. This comes on top of the cleaning materials, testing assurances and the great green story that Wools of New Zealand already offers.”

“By uniting this exceptional group of retailers, we are able to redefine the wool industry and create new ways of doing business that are built on a strong foundation of partnership.” added Elise Demboski, executive director of North America for Wools of New Zealand.