EMU Australia (simply referred to as EMU; pronounced ''eem-you'', often mispronounced ''eem-moo'') is an Australian lifestyle brand that designs, produces and markets footwear and accessories. The brand is best known for their

sheepskin Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Diction ...

and

Merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

products. Their signature products are

sheepskin boots Sheepskin boots are boots made from sheepskin. The wool on sheepskin has good insulating properties and so such boots are commonly worn when it is cold. Sheepskin boots have been worn and used in colder climates since at least 500 B.C. as a Mumm ...

, which have been a popular fashion trend for young women since the 2000s. EMU products are also available for men and children. Emu Australia was originally established as Jackson's Tannery by Gordon Jackson in 1948. Jackson's Tannery supplied ugg boots to several retailers including a Western Australian company, Country Leather, who supplied their products to ''Ugg Holdings'' in the United States. In 1994, Country Leather opened its own shop in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

and ''Ugg Holdings'' began sourcing ugg boots directly from Jackson's, who had changed their name to EMU Australia when surf veteran Andrew Raggett took over ownership of the company. Following the sale of ''Ugg Holdings'' to

Deckers Outdoor Corporation Deckers Outdoor Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Deckers Brands, is a footwear designer and distributor founded in 1973 and based in Goleta, California, United States. The company's portfolio of brands includes UGG (brand), UGG, Teva, ...

, who outsourced the manufacture of ugg boots to China in 1995, EMU continued production and sales under their own Emu brand.Smith, Brian. "Booty Call". ''

Los Angeles Magazine ''Los Angeles,'' formerly known as ''Southern California Prompter'', is a monthly magazine based in Los Angeles, California. It focuses on telling regional news, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion stories from Los Angeles and the br ...

''. 1 October 2001, page 75.Cronin, Emily
"The story of Ugg"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 30 January 2011. The main headquarters for the company is located in

South Geelong, Victoria South Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its Local government areas of Victoria, local government area is the City of Greater Geelong. At the 2016 Australian ...

, Australia. International locations include

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, United States; Hamburg, Germany; and London, England. EMU Australia's main competitor for ugg boots in the Australian market is Luda Productions, which holds approximately 75% market share in Australia. The main competing brands in EMU's overseas markets are

UGG Australia UGG is an American fashion company primarily known for its sheepskin boots, founded in 1978 by Brian Smith in California. UGG also sells apparel, accessories, and home textiles. History UGG was founded in California in 1978 by Australian sur ...

, manufactured by Deckers Outdoor Corporation, and Bearpaw, which produce similar sheepskin products and hold over 95% market share worldwide between them. The name "EMU" is derived from the Australian Coat of Arms which features the

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

bird.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.emuaustralia.com/ 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion Clothing companies established in 1994 Retail companies established in 1994 Shoe companies of Australia 1994 establishments in Australia Shoe brands