WINDHOEK – Swakara pelts from Namibia ruled the roost again at last Sunday night’s Kopenhagen Furs Auction in Copenhagen, Denmark, when 92 percent of the black and white consignment worth N$34 million were sold at an average price of US$38.60 (about N$451). That is a nine percent price drop compared to the auction in 2014 September, says Dagmar Hӧnsbein, GM of Agra ProVision.
But in spite of this price drop Hӧnsbein is pleased with the sales. “It was a good sale with fair prices, especially if you compare these current prices for the Swakara skins with the prices that we obtained last year in April, she says.
The reason for the slightly lower prices, she explains, is that some typical Swakara buyers were not present in the auction room or said that they still had sufficient stock until the next auction is due.
Buyers from the Russian market were absent. This was expected, because the rouble has decreased in value, making our goods more expensive for the Russian market, says Hӧnsbein.
This has prompted Agra ProVision to search for other markets for the Swakara skins.
“We are going to market our products broader and in addition to this, we are considering a different approach in Swakara designs. In co-operation with Kopenhagen Fur’s design centre, KiCK, we may want to focus on Swakara designs which use our skins as details. Also, we will market Swakara accessories in various new markets in co-operation with Kopenhagen Fur’s Marketing Department, she says.
“We have been purchasing the black or the white Swakara top lot for four years. This year, I really wanted both of them. I simply just love the amazing quality, so it makes me very happy that we purchased both. At our company, we believe that top quality skins and a healthy work environment is the key to success, says Eleftheria Konstantinou, who was crowned as the top buyer of both black and white pelts at Sunday’s auction.
Konstantinou Furs is owned by Eleftheria Konstantunou’s father, Athanasios Konstantinou and the company is located in Greece.
Eleftheria Konstantunou says they have not yet decided how the two top lots are going to be used, but she has many ideas.