Saga Furs’ Nearly 90 Years of Heritage
Today The Fur Industry Leader and the Most Responsible Choice
The Saga Furs auction house was founded in 1938 by the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association. The first local auctions took place in the 1940s, laying the cornerstones for the international brand and auction house of today.
By the 1950s, the first international fur auctions were held in Finland, and Saga Furs started to establish its reputation as a quality brand and the premier partner for the fashion industry. To develop the quality of the fur, shows were organized to grade the animals. Since 1953, the international competition for pelts has been organized annually.
Saga pioneered during the 1960s in improving its business operations and made significant investments in animal feed and breeding. This ensured the high-quality characteristics of the pelts that Saga Furs has become known for, while the brand was associated with high fashion and trusted partnerships.
In the 1970s, through competitions, Saga Furs inspired a whole new generation of designers who started testing new techniques.
In the 1980s, Saga Furs opened the doors to its newly built Fur Center in Finland and hosted the first auction at its new premises. It also became the first fur company to go public when it was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1986. The Saga Furs Design Centre opened its doors in 1988. During these years, Saga Furs also entered the Chinese market.
In the early 1990s, Saga Furs started developing the Sampo programme, a breeding tool for producers to register breeding animals and their genealogy. During the late 1990s, automated grading machines further improved the reliability of the Saga Grading System. The Design Centre became the first to innovate with fur in home décor.
Saga Furs launched the ‘Fur Vision’ event in New York in 2000 to showcase the Design Centre’s innovations and new techniques to fashion capitals around the globe. New York’s success was followed by similar events in Milan, Paris, and London.
Saga Certification began in 2005 when Saga Furs teamed up with the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association to initiate groundbreaking standards for fur farming. This was also the decade when Saga launched the first Traceability System that enables tracing the material in a garment back to the farm of origin.
In 2008, Saga Furs introduced the industry’s first CSR policy and, in the same year, led the industry again by joining the United Nations Global Compact initiative for responsible corporate policies.
In the 2010s, significant milestones in Asia were reached when Fur Vision Asia was launched. In 2018, Saga Furs launched a training program at BIFTPARK Haining to extend Saga’s fur innovation and craftsmanship to the creative talents of the future in China. The breeding programme Sampo was taken to the millennial level in 2013 when WebSambo was launched as a web-based tool accessed through the Saga extranet.
Where We Are Today
- The Saga Certification and Traceability System: The world recognizes Saga Furs as the ethical pioneer of sustainable and responsible practices.
- Saga Grading System: Known as the best in the industry today.
- International Design School Collaboration: Saga Furs works closely with several international design schools in Europe, Asia, and North America.
- Saga Furs Design Center’s work is now continued by the Saga Furs Creative Hub. It is located in the Vantaa Fur Center, it is frequently visited by our key stakeholders to learn about the latest collections, fur trends, and product development.