WOW’s sale has wow factor
World of WearableArt has been sold by sisters Dame Suzie Moncrieff and Heather Palmer to a two-year-old Auckland-based company that’s run by Hideaki Fukutake, the son of Japanese billionaire Soichiro Fukutake.
Hideaki Fukutake is based in Auckland, according to the Companies Office, with his LinkedIn page saying he formed his new company Still to ‘‘foster a world full of culture and art’’.
Moncrieff said it was the right time to bring in new guardians who would continue to grow the fashion-meets-art spectacle.
‘‘WOW for me has been an exciting and fulfilling adventure. Heather and I have worked so hard over the past 35 years, sometimes against the odds. The Covid years were immensely challenging, and we realised it was time to step back, time for a reset for us and for WOW,’’ Moncrieff said.
At the announcement yesterday from WOW’s headquarters in Nelson, Fukutake said Still had not worked with WOW before, so he was ‘‘very excited’’. He was interested in the business and process of WOW, and how it had affected New Zealand’s cultural environment over the years.
He believed WOW had strong opportunities for the future and, by pur
chasing WOW, Still was helping shape the country’s long-term art landscape. His background in Japan’s and the international art scene meant he had a large amount of experience in running art shows that he would bring to the company’s workings. ‘‘I strongly believe in . . . WOW’s future.’’
Fukutake would be joining the company’s board of directors.
There were no plans to change WOW’s creative direction at this stage.
He could not comment on how much its sale equated to.
Moncrieff said talks to sell WOW started about a year ago. Despite its relative newness as a company, Still was selected because of its investment in New Zealand’s art scene.
The sale would not affect the structure, staffing or day-to-day operations of WOW, or the annual awards show being held in Wellington over the next five years, the sisters said in a statement.
WOW was created in Nelson by Moncrieff in 1987 and its awards shows have been attended by more than 800,000 people since.