Based in Germany, the family-run company has been in the
textile industry for more than 135 years and is one of the most internationally
successful manufacturers and suppliers of scarves and textile accessories.
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| Fraas makes 10m scarves a year |
Traditional and sustainable methods
Speaking to MJ Rabbit during the TFWA World Exhibition,
Andreas Schmidt, the owner and managing director of Fraas, said the company’s
priority is quality and craftsmanship. Let’s take as an example the unisex
cashmere scarf currently listed in British Airways’ inflight catalogue. Made in
Germany from the finest yarn, the lightweight, 100% cashmere scarf has a modern
yet classical design in a grey unisex colourway.
Fraas makes 10m scarves each year. Today, traditional
methods are still used, passed down from the label’s founders – one of whom,
Valentin Fraas, is Andreas’s great-great-grandfather. The company’s looms are
in Wüstenselbitz in northern Bavaria, where special wells supply the water for
the finishing process. Fraas boasts sustainability, too: nearly 70% of the
yarns it uses are spun and dyed locally. Fraas uses the bristles of the
weaver’s thistle to comb cashmere until it’s soft. This prickly plant gives
cashmere its gloss through gentle strokes of its hooked bristles.
Over the past two years, the company has been strategically
targeting travel retail with strong initial results, namely nine shop-in-shops
at China Duty Free Group (20 planned); five shop-in-shops with China National
Service; a shop-in-shop at Nuremberg Airport; a pop-up shop at Munich Airport
confirmed for 2018; a planned pop-up shop at Düsseldorf Airport; a planned pop-up
shop at Johannesburg Airport; a shop-in-shop at Riga Airport (private terminal);
and a successful business relationship with BC Ferries in Canada.
The perfect gift
During the TFWA World Exhibition, Fraas unveiled a number of
products:
The Perfect Gift: Under the slogan “the most beautiful
presents come from the heart”, the gift collection of scarves, hats and gloves
comes in attractive packaging, retailing from €69 to €199.
My Travel Companion: This range of oversized scarves and
ponchos – very on-trend on today’s fashion catwalks – are designed to be the
perfect travel companion as they fit in all carry-on baggage and keep the
wearer warm and comfortable while travelling. The collection also includes
regular sized scarves and retails from €29 to €399.
In addition, the Fraas Signature Collection is exclusively
manufactured in Germany and Italy using the firm’s expertise. In this new
capsule collection (retail price: €69-399), the best of 135 years of scarf
manufacturing is combined with the ambitions of a leader in the world market,
Schmidt said.
