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It was 95 degrees when the first Norwegian wool jacket prototype arrived at Michael Berkowitz’s apartment in the Bronx, New York, in August 2014.
Needing to test the water-resistant, knee-length wool coat without getting heat stroke, the founder and CEO of the then fledgling clothing brand took it to a supermarket in West Harlem. “[I]walked back and forth for 30 minutes in the freezer” to assess its lining for warmth, recalled Berkowitz, 38. “This is New York, so nobody stops you, nobody questions you. My face was cold by the end, but my body was completely warm. I remember thinking, ‘Okay, we’re on to something.'”
At the time, Berkowitz was a commodities trader hoping to start his own business. Today, Norwegian Wool coats adorn the shoulders of billionaires, actors, politicians and financiers — during campaign events, during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerlandand in a An episode of HBO’s “Succession” season 3. The apparel brand was profitable in 2024 and has been profitable in seven of the past eight years, Berkowitz says.
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Berkowitz declined to share other financials, citing competitive pressures, but says his company’s products are now sold in more than 100 stores worldwide, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and his appointment-only New York showroom.
The appeal of Norwegian wool coats is part form, part function. Financiers are expected to dress a certain way, but the classic woolen Italian coats that most of them wear aren’t meant for 40-degree weather, says Berkowitz.
“If you show up with (a down coat) that looks like you’re going to the Arctic, but it’s only 40 degrees, you don’t look like someone who’s going to be able to break through walls and close a deal,” he says.
Norwegian Wool’s best-selling mid-length Euro coats currently range from $1,545 to $2,945 each, depending on the type of wool used. The brand sells other lengths and styles, including blazers, sports coats, rain and ski jackets, as well as a variety of winter coat options and accessories for men and women. An estimated 40 billionaires have purchased Norwegian wool coats, Berkowitz estimates.
A luxury startup with humble roots
Berkowitz got the idea for a Norwegian wave while shivering on a subway platform with a friend in 2013, he says. “I told him, ‘I need a coat that looks good, that I can wear to work, that will actually keep me warm,'” Berkowitz recalled. “He put his hand on my shoulders, like, ‘Dude, when you get it, get it from me.’
After doing some research, Berkowitz identified a simple culprit, he says: Many modern coats were designed in parts of Italy where the air rarely freezes. Average January temperature in Florencefor example, is approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit – compared to 30 degrees in New York and 25 degrees in Chicago.
Companies based in Canada and Scandinavia make warmer coats for harsher winters, but as one designer told him, the two industries “don’t speak to each other,” he says.
The Norwegian Wool showroom located in the Midtown neighborhood of New York
Norwegian wave
Berkowitz spent months flying to and from Italy to meet and woo factory owners who would deliver prototypes to his apartment. He ended up spending $250,000 — $50,000 of his own money and a $200,000 investment from his company’s former CFO, who had heard about Berkowitz’s efforts from a colleague — to test prototypes and order an initial run of 200 coats, he says.
At night, on weekends and holidays, Berkowitz would deliver these coats—one on his body and two in a small suitcase—to family-owned luxury stores across the U.S., he says. He often approached sales associates directly, who knew his customers’ common dilemma of wanting to feel warm while looking good in a fancy coat, he says.
He sold all 200 coats in three months and quit his day job in early 2015, he says.
“I didn’t sleep much this year,” says Berkowitz, adding that during the day he tried to hide his efforts to avoid jeopardizing his job. According to his former boss, Alan Kestenbaum, now CEO of New York-based holding company Bedrock Industries, he seemed like nothing more than a “streetwise” and impatient employee who was “the first to arrive and the last to leave.”
Like “dipping your hand in warm oil”
In 2017, Berkowitz entered into his first partnership to sell coats at a major department store. Over the next year, Norwegian Wool participated in two fundraising rounds, both seven-figure deals with private equity investors, Berkowitz says. He remains the majority owner of the company, he notes.
Norwegian wool coats are generally more expensive than Canada Goose parkas and less expensive than cashmere coats from established Italian luxury brands such as Loro Piana. But the quality of its materials is high, says Legacy costume director John Schwartz: Norwegian Wool’s cashmere feels like “dipping your hand in warm oil.”
Berkowitz’s dream for Norwegian Wool is a reputation similar to the Range Rover cars – known worldwide for their blend of style and functionality, he says. It plans to add more product lines, invest in marketing and host pop-up trade events to improve brand visibility, he adds. He’s already heard Norwegian Wool mentioned in organic conversations, even when no one realizes the brand’s founder is around, he says.
If you show up with a (down coat) that looks like you’re going to the Arctic, but it’s only 40 degrees, you don’t look like someone who’s going to be able to break through walls and close a deal.
Michael Berkowitz
Founder and CEO, Norwegian Wool
And as someone squarely within Norwegian Wool’s target demographic—businessmen who want to make an impression with their cold winter looks, he says—he still tests many of the company’s prototypes himself.
Berkowitz dressed himself and his friends in yet-to-be-released parkas for a February ski trip to the Alps. He brought a sample of a newly launched bamboo blazer to Paris in September, throwing it on his rolling suitcase and into the plane’s overhead bin to test it for wrinkling and scratching, he says.
“I test things going to my office in Midtown or on vacation in the Alps,” says Berkowitz. “It doesn’t matter where it is as much as how I wear it. It has to be representative of how our customers would wear it.”
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