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 of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is tanned with the fleece intact, as in a pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictionary", 2nd ed., Macquarie Library, North Ryde, 1991 Uses ...

and

Merino The Merino is a 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 monopoly; exports of the bree ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre 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 properties similar to animal wool. ...

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 Mummy ...

, 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In 1994, Country Leather opened its own shop in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') 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, b ...

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, doing business as Deckers Brands, is a footwear designer and distributor based in Goleta, California, United States. It was founded in 1973 by University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Doug Otto and Karl F. ...

, 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'' magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to covering Los Angeles. Founded in the spring of 1961 by David Brown, the magazine is currently owned and published by Hour Media Group, LLC. Los Angeles magazine's combination of feat ...

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

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

'', 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. Its local government area is the City of Greater Geelong. At the 2016 census, South Geelong had a population of 993. The suburb is adj ...

, Australia. International locations include

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, United States;

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

; and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. 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 Australian surfer Brian Smith in Santa Monica, California. After putting on his pair of Australian sheepskin boots after a chilly late-night surf i ...

, 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 the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The ...

bird.

References

External links

*{{Official, 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