The Grande Finale of Myssy
The closing sale starts
It is time for the Grande Finale. The story of Myssy is coming to an end, but the legend will live forever. Those people from Pöytyä, they made the impossible possible. They sold over 100 000 beanies knitted by the local grannies to the fashion metropolis of the world and created the boom of Finnish wool. Myssy is much bigger of a brand than a company. Yet the decision is the right one, the closing sale of Myssy starts now.
No matter what we have taken ourselves into, we have succeeded. But in the end, we were not able to raise the volumes enough to reach profitability. And when we started cutting the cost, the sales also dropped. Now we will sell out all our stock with reasonable discounts, deliver all orders and, if needed, produce new ones. There is still winter left, and the hot season of Myssy continues.
Farming & fashion exports
The articles of association of Myssyfarmi Ltd states that the purpose of this business is to refine, conceptualize, sell and market the products originating from Finnish agriculture. We have been able to walk this path further than anyone else, attending the fashion weeks as farmers. There is no question about Myssy being one of the most successful Finnish brands in fashion exports: Galeries Lafayette and Merci in Paris, Kuho Official Flagship, Lotte Avenuel Department Store, Tom Greyhound ja Platform in Seoul, Place London ja Toast in UK, Gravity Pope in Canada, Juneshan in China, Stockmann in Helsinki and our long term partnership with Friluftsland: Partioaitta, Naturkompaniet ja Globetrotter in the Nordics, speak on their behalf. This month our Grannies were knitting in Vogue - again.
At our best we were able to employ 100 retired ladies known as Myssy Grannies and currently we have more than 70 active knitters. The waiting list for potential knitters is just as long, the pull from the market has always been the greatest among knitters. The Granny community, knitting by order and extra income have given a lot of content and meaning to the lives of our knitters. We are also the company that created the Finnish Wool Boom in 2020. We had talked about the superior quality of Finnsheep wool for years, when finally the media picked up on the high waste percentage of Finnish wool. An amazing and unexpected boom followed that cherished Finnwool.
We do matter
But it is also wise to know when to quit. We have given all we got and a little more to Myssy for more than a decade. There have been amazing adventures all over the world from the Finnish Sheep Conference in Tornio to taking over the Takashimaya department store in Nagoya with the Grannies. We managed to build an amazing community of Myssy Friends that supported us when times got rough. We always thought that if we cannot do this, nobody can. And that really might be the case, but we sincerely wish that someone else will succeed.
In Finland fashion is suffering from cultural insignificance: It doesn’t have a major role in political decision making, it is not in the center of financing nor in the core of our country's brand. Though we are a rural nation at heart, farming good exports are not doing any better. This has to change. We must believe in ourselves and be proud of what and who we are. We must represent our own brand, see what our strengths are and appreciate our own talent. The Finnish fashion sector holds a huge potential, our creative talent is ranking high and the growth agreement of the fashion and textile industry is ready to be executed - and funded.
We do understand that these news will create sorrow, frustration and even hate. We do matter. Myssy will live forever in those thousands of numbered and signed accessories all over the world, they will last more than a lifetime. Our legacy of lifting up and cherishing Finnsheep wool will last in the Finnish wool industry. Those tens of thousands of people that learned to knit with our Knitkits will keep knitting. Pöytyä founds its place on the map. The centuries old rural tradition for craftsmanship will keep thriving.
Myssy. Now and always.
Anna Rauhansuu, the CEO and founder of Myssyfarmi ltd
