Financier quit job to launch Norwegian Wool—billionaires wear his luxury coats

It was 95 degrees when the first prototype of a Norwegian Wool jacket arrived at Michael Berkowitz’s apartment in The Bronx, New York, in August 2014.

Needing to test the waterproof knee-length wool coat without getting heat stroke, the founder and CEO of the then-fledgling apparel brand took it to a supermarket in West Harlem. “[I] paced back and forth for 30 minutes in a walk-in freezer” to evaluate its lining for warmth, recalls Berkowitz, 38. “It’s New York, so no one stops you, no one asks you. My face was cold by the end, but my body was totally warm. I remember thinking, ‘OK, we’re on to something.'”

At the time, Berkowitz was a commodities trader hoping to launch his own business. Today, Norwegian Wool’s coats adorn the shoulders of billionaires, actors, politicians and financiers — at campaign events, during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and in a Season 3 episode of HBO’s “Succession.” The apparel brand was profitable in 2024, and has been for seven out of the last eight years, Berkowitz says.

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Berkowitz declined to share other financials, citing competitive pressure — 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 wool Italian coats most of them wear aren’t designed for sub-40-degree weather, says Berkowitz.

“If you show up wearing a [puffer coat] that looks like you’re going to the Arctic, but it’s only 40 degrees, you do not look like the person that’s going to be able to break through walls and get a deal done,” he says.

Norwegian Wool’s bestselling 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, sport coats, rain and ski jackets, and a variety of winter coat options and accessories for men and women. Roughly 40 billionaires have purchased Norwegian Wool coats, Berkowitz estimates.

Berkowitz had the idea for Norwegian Wool 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 could wear to work, that will actually keep me warm,'” Berkowitz remembers. “He put his arm on my shoulders, like, ‘Dude, when you find it, get me one, too.'”

After doing some research, Berkowitz identified a simple culprit, he says: Many fashionable coats are designed in parts of Italy where the air rarely freezes. The average January temperature in Florence, for example, is roughly 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 talk to each other,” he says.

Berkowitz spent months flying to Italy and back to meet and woo factory owners, who’d ship prototypes to his apartment. He ultimately spent $250,000 — $50,000 of his own money and a $200,000 investment from the former CFO of his company, who’d heard about Berkowitz’s efforts from a colleague — to sample the prototypes and order an initial run of 200 coats, he says.

On nights, weekends and vacation days, Berkowitz carted those coats — one on his body and two in a small suitcase — to family-owned luxury stores across the U.S., he says. He often pitched directly to sales associates, who knew their clients’ shared dilemma of wanting to feel warm while looking nice in a luxury coat, he says.

He sold all 200 coats in three months and resigned from his day job in early 2015, he says.

“I didn’t sleep much that year,” says Berkowitz, adding that by day, he tried to hide his efforts to avoid jeopardizing his job. According to his former boss Alan Kestenbaum, now the CEO of New York-based holding company Bedrock Industries, he only ever came across as a “street smart” and eager employee who was “the first to arrive and the last to leave.”

In 2017, Berkowitz landed his first partnership to sell coats at a major department store. The following year, Norwegian Wool participated in two fundraising rounds, both seven-figure deals with private investors, Berkowitz says. He remains the company’s majority owner, he notes.

Norwegian Wool coats are generally more expensive than Canada Goose parkas, and less pricey than cashmere coats from established Italian luxury brands like Loro Piana. But the quality of its materials is high, says “Succession” costume director Jon Schwartz: Norwegian Wool’s cashmere feels like “dipping your hand into warm butter.”

Berkowitz’s dream for Norwegian Wool is a reputation akin to Range Rover cars — known worldwide for a blend of style and functionality, he says. He plans to add more product lines, invest in marketing and host pop-up retail events to improve the brand’s visibility, he adds. Already, he’s overheard Norwegian Wool come up in organic conversations, even when nobody realizes the brand’s founder is in earshot, he says.

And as someone squarely within Norwegian Wool’s target demographic — businesspeople who want to make an impression with their appearance during cold winters, he says — he still tests many of the company’s prototypes himself.

Berkowitz outfitted himself and his friends with not-yet-released parkas for a February ski trip in the Alps. He brought a sample of a recently released bamboo blazer to Paris in September, tossing it on top of his rolling suitcase and into the plane’s overhead bin to test it for wrinkling and pilling, he says.

“I test things out going to my office in Midtown or in vacation to the Alps,” says Berkowitz. “It doesn’t matter where it is, as much as how I’m wearing it. It has to be representative of how our customers would wear it.”

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