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The illustrious history of Glacier Investments Ltd is belied today by Donald Sew Hoy QSM and Jennie Sew Hoy QSM. Their story goes back to the Otago gold rush when Donald’s great grandfather, Choie Sew Hoy sailed from Guangzhou in 1869, seeking his fortune – first in Australia, then New Zealand.
Choie Sew Hoy became renowned as the most successful goldminer of his time, and as an entrepreneur. He had the first gold dredge designed and built in Dunedin for the Shotover River. The Guinness Book of Records notes his dredge hauled the most gold from that river.
In Guangzhou, Donald’s grandfather, Kum Yok Sew Hoy established a thriving trading business linked to the family store at 29 Stafford St, Dunedin, a heritage building to this day, established in 1869. Ever since then, the Sew Hoy family has been synonymous with Dunedin.
Donald’s father, Hugh Sew Hoy travelled from China to New Zealand in 1918, when he was 17 to work in the family business. Much later, he was to be awarded an OBE for services to New Zealand industry in 1980, the first Chinese either here or Australia.
Donald has been active in the wider business community, first as an early President of the Otago-Southland Manufacturers Association and served many roles in the clothing industry. During the NZ-Australia NAFTA negotiations in the 1980s, which freed up trans-Tasman trade, he was a spokesperson for the apparel industry, and in 1971, Sew Hoy & Sons Ltd won a coveted NZ Export Award.
Donald and his family kept alive the clothing business established by his father for 50 years, despite the elimination of tariffs on imported textiles leading to the closure of their original manufacturing operation. At one time, Sew Hoy & Sons Ltd employed 700 people and 5 factories in New Zealand.
In 2001, Donald and Jennie relocated from Dunedin to Auckland, to assist the growth of their family business and be close to their three daughters, Angela, Debbie and Vicki and their families. Based in Auckland, Glacier Investments Ltd has been manufacturing in China for 30+ years with 32 outsourced factories in China and Bangladesh, which produced over 3 million garments per year for major retail chains and department stores, like Farmers Trading Company, The Warehouse, Pumpkin Patch, Ezibuy and Mosaic Group, in New Zealand and Australia.
On 7 April 2008, Donald and Jennie were invited to accompany the Prime Minister, Hon. Helen Clark and a 240-strong trade delegation to Beijing, to witness the signing of the historic New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement at the Great Hall of the People. New Zealand was the first OECD country to sign a FTA with China.
In recognition of their success, Donald was named as 2015 Senior New Zealander of the Year in the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards. In 2015, Glacier Investments Ltd was a finalist in the HSBC NZCTA NZ-China Business Awards in the Mainfreight category “Award for Excellence in Export or Import.” Donald was also awarded “The Cathay Pacific Special Relationship Award” for the outstanding contribution by an individual to the New Zealand-China relationship through success in their own industry.
Glacier Investments Ltd is now a NZ food and beverages exporter. They plan to export a diverse range of food and beverage products that are locally grown or made in New Zealand. Glacier Investments Ltd has formed relationships and secured supply agreements with a number of NZ suppliers. They have NZ juices, wines, beef, mutton and lamb, dairy products and pet foods, ready for export to the global market.