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AAKKUUBBRRAA P.O. Box 287, Kempsey. 2440 • Phone (02) 6562.6177 • Fax (02) 6562.8726 • www.akubra.com.au DECEMBER 2013 Vol. 33 No. 8

AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER

FINALLY IT’S OFFICIAL.WE ARE WORLD BEATERS

IInn llaasstt yyeeaarr’’ss DDeecceemmbbeerreeddiittiioonn ooff AAkkuubbrraa NNeewwsswwee bbooaasstteedd tthhaatt oouurr hhoommeettoowwnn ooff KKeemmppsseeyy ((NNSSWW))wwaass ooffffiicciiaallllyy iinn tthheeGGuuiinnnneessss BBooookk ooffRReeccoorrddss ffoorr tthhee mmoosstt ppeeoo--ppllee ggaatthheerreedd iinn tthhee oonneeppllaaccee aatt tthhee oonnee ttiimmeewweeaarriinngg AAkkuubbrraa hhaattss..

We were a tiny bit prema-ture in making the boast.Twelve months premature,actually.

In November last year1912 people gathered atRiverside Park, on thebanks of the Macleay River,to try and set the worldrecord.

Unofficially, we were toldthe record was ours.

Last month, after a ner-vous year long wait by theorganisers, the LondonOffice of Guinness WorldRecords made it official.

The early morning eventcoincided with theKempsey Cup, which wassponsored by Akubra andwas broadcast live acrossAustralia by the popularSunrise breakfast televisionprogram.

The event was coordinat-ed by Kempsey Shire

Council’s EconomicSustainability Unit with sup-port from the MacleayArgus newspaper and manylocal business and commu-nity organisations.

“The aim of the eventwas to make history for theMacleay and show we areproud to be associated with

such an iconic Australianlegend as the Akubra hat,”unit manager, SusannahSmith, said.

“Guinness guidelines forcreating an official worldrecord are extremely rigor-ous, with evidence requiredfor all aspects of the eventand the official count.

“As far as we were con-cerned, the event was ahuge success because wefar exceeded our target of1000 people, but once theevent was over we still hadthe huge task of bundlingtogether all our evidenceand shipping it to London.

“We have been a littlenervous that it’s takenGuinness this long todeclare us official worldrecord breakers, but they’vecome through with the offi-cial news now, so we’rereally relieved and delight-ed.”

AKUBRA NEWS

AKUBRA. THE PERFECTACCESSORY WITH A BIKINI

NNeevveerr,, aass oouurr ppiiccttuurreesshhoowwss,, hhaass tthheerree bbeeeennssuucchh aa ssttuunnnniinngg wwaayy ttoosshhooww ooffff aann AAkkuubbrraa aannddppeerrhhaappss nnooww iitt wwiillllbbeeccoommee aa ffaasshhiioonn ssttaattee--mmeenntt oonn tthhee bbeeaacchh,,tteeaammeedd wwiitthh tthhee bbiikkiinnii..

If it does it will bebecause of a 24 year oldlawyer from Burleigh Headsin Queensland who decidedto follow her dream.

Twelve months agoBecky Jack turned her backon a career in law to createher own company, Peonyand design swimwear withan emphasis on uncompli-cated, natural styles.

She has been so suc-cessful and her swimwear

has been accepted so read-ily around the world thatBecky was recently invitedto show her range at theMercedes-Benz FashionFestival in Brisbane.

She also wanted to makea statement to supportAustralian business sodecided to team Akubrahats with her swimwear.

“I am passionate aboutAustralian manufacturingand proud that my swim-wear is designed and madeon the Gold Coast and sell-ing internationally,” Beckysaid.

“I am proud that Peony is100 percent Australian andsomething that sets meapart from other swimwearbrands.

“All garments are handmade in limited quantities,rather than mass producedoverseas, so my customersknow they are gettingsomething truly special.

“I chose to includeAkubra hats in my show fortwo reasons.

“Akubra is a whollyowned Australian iconwhich emphasised theAustralian roots of my com-pany and aesthetically theybrought a bit of toughnessto a very feminine and floralcollection.

“The response we gotwas amazing and I am sohappy how the show turnedout.”

A SEA OF HATS: Part of the crowd that helped Akubra and Kempsey to a world record.

A NEW FASHION TREND: Youhave to admit, the Akubra adds

something to the bikini..

OH MY HAT!!!AKUBRA IS DIVERSIFYING

AAkkuubbrraa,, ffoorr tthhee ffiirrssttttiimmee iinn 113300 yyeeaarrss,, iissddiivveerrssiiffyyiinngg aanndd vveennttuurr--iinngg aawwaayy ffrroomm tthhee ssoolleepprroodduuccttiioonn ooff hhaattss aannddiinnttoo tthhee wwoorrlldd ooff qquuaalliittyyAAkkuubbrraa bbrraannddeedd lluuxxuurryylleeaatthheerr ggooooddss..

The company has signeda licensing agreement withanother Australian ownedfamily business, DKM Blue,to give that company globalrights to produce a range ofAkubra branded luxuryleather products includingovernight bags, hand bags,travel accessories, walletsand purses.

All these products will behandsomely presented ingift boxes or dust bags andwill be available throughselected retailers, onlineand on QANTAS interna-tional flights as a duty freepurchase.

The complete range isalso available atwww.akubrastore.com.au

The deal with DKMBlue’s two owners, brothersDorry and Danny Kordahi,has been three years in themaking and came after anapproach from them toAkubra.

It is also one thatManaging Director, StephenKeir and his board agonised

over for some time.“There was a lot of emo-

tion attached to making adecision to break with tradi-tion and move away fromsolely making hats,”Stephen Keir said.

“A lot of market researchwas undertaken before weagreed it was the right wayto move the company for-ward.

“All the products will bedesigned in Australia usingAustralian leather.

“Let me assure everyonethat Akubra hats will alwaysbe manufactured inAustralia, in Kempsey andthis deal will underpin thatcommitment.

“However there areinherent risks with remain-ing a one product companyand we had to address thatrisk.

“Not everyone wears ahat and over the years manypeople had asked us whywe did not produce otherleather goods.

“We had never reallytaken those suggestionstoo seriously but when DKMBlue approached us werealised this was an oppor-tunity to expand our marketbase.

“Now we can provide ourcustomers and those whodo not wear hats with arange of quality productscarrying the Akubra name.

“This represents a signif-icant step forward in ourhistory.

“The nature of globalbusiness and manufactur-ing in Australia is evolving ata rapid pace and it seemsnow that there are morerisks than ever before.

“Diversifying will enableus to protect the variousstakeholders that supportour business and provide aplatform for growth.

“What attracted us toDKM Blue was their exper-tise in design, quality prod-uct development and theability to offer us a completesupply chain managementsolution.

“They share our commit-ment not only to quality butalso ethical business princi-ples.

“Just like us, they expectthe same standards from allstakeholders.

“This has provided alevel of comfort both to ourboard of directors as well asall of the family owners ofAkubra.

“This will allow us to con-tinue to make Akubra hatsin Kempsey for generationsto come.

“Akubra is very good atmaking hats and we haveforged a reputation as oneof the best in the world.

“However, we are not setup to make other leathergoods and an enormousamount of capital would berequired to do so.

“This agreement withDKM Blue was the obviousanswer.”

HISTORIC AGREEMENT: Akubra’s Managing Director, Stephen Keir , signsthe historic agreement with Dorry Kordahi (left) and Danny Kordahi.

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AKUBRA MOUNTS NATIONALADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

OUR VERY OWN HATS!THANK YOU AKUBRA

We are taking a break

HOW TO SURVIVE IN RETAILIN THE OUTBACK

AKUBRA WIN S NATIONAL AWARD

Akubra is in the midst of a national television and radio advertisingcampaign in the lead up to Christmas.

TThhee ccoommppaannyy’’ss tteelleevvii--ssiioonn ccaammppaaiiggnn wwiitthh tthheeSSoouutthheerrnn CCrroossss NNeettwwoorrkkssttaarrtteedd oonn NNoovveemmbbeerr 2244aanndd ccoonnttiinnuueess uunnttiillDDeecceemmbbeerr 2211 wwiitthhSSoouutthheerrnn CCrroossss iinncclluuddiinnggiinn tthhaatt ddeeaall tthhee 4400 ssttaattiioonnssiinn iittss ttrruucckk rraaddiioo nneettwwoorrkk..

The radio campaign iswith the Ray HadleyMorning Show, which is net-worked into four states andwill be used to promote the

new range of Akubra brand-ed leather goods that havejust come on the market(see front page story).

This combined campaignwill reach the bulk ofAustralia’s major marketswith the television compo-nent taking the messagefrom Tasmania north toMelville Island and all pointsin between.

It also uses the AliceSprings based Imparja net-work, designed specifically

for country people living andworking away from thecoast.

The Ray Hadley MorningShow, which emanates fromthe Sydney based 2GB,covers that city and most ofNew South Wales through10 regional stations, most ofQueensland through anoth-er 11 regional stations andcountry Victoria and SouthAustralia.

“The lead up toChristmas is always the

busiest time for retailersand we have mounted thiscampaign to help get themessage across that anAkubra product would makethe ideal gift,” ManagingDirector, Stephen Keir, said.

“It will also make peopleaware that our range hasbeen expanded to includeAkubra branded overnightbags, handbags, travelaccessories, wallets andpurses.”

TThhiiss hhaappppyy ggrroouupp ooffpprrooffeessssiioonnaall ccoonnffeerreenncceeoorrggaanniisseerrss ccoouulldd nnoott wwiippeetthhee ssmmiilleess ooffff tthheeiirr ffaacceessaafftteerr eeaacchh wwaass ffiitttteedd wwiitthhaann AAkkuubbrraa CCaattttlleemmaann,, iinnssaanndd,, aatt aa rreecceenntt eevveenntt iinnAAlliiccee SSpprriinnggss..

The organisers, fromAustralia and New Zealand,were attending the AliceSprings Stampede familwhich is a joint initiativebetween the Alice SpringsConvention Centre and theNorthern TerritoryConvention Bureau (NTCB).

It was used to showcasethe best of Alice Springs asa convention venue and hadan immediate impact with

one convention alreadybooked.

Dugal McIntyre headednorth to set up the Akubrafitting station with each del-egate measured and pre-

sented with their Akubra asa joint PR exercise.

Kylie Mansfield, the Salesand Marketing Manager forthe Alice SpringsConvention Centre, said the

18 conference organiserswere overjoyed with theirAkubras.

“They were like overexcited kids in a lolly shop,”Kylie said.

“Once they had the hatson their heads they rarelytook them off and worethem at all our outdooractivities.

“Akubra is an Australianicon and something veryfamiliar in this part of theworld.”

Those activities includeda guided walk around AliceSprings Desert Park, a visitto Simpson’s Gap in theWest MacDonnell Rangesand a camel ride withPyndan Camel Tracks.

AAss uussuuaall,, tthhee AAkkuubbrraaffaaccttoorryy iiss cclloossiinngg oovveerr tthheeCChhrriissttmmaass--NNeeww YYeeaarr ppeerrii--oodd ttoo ggiivvee oouurr hhaarrdd wwoorrkk--iinngg ssttaaffff aa wweellll--ddeesseerrvveeddbbrreeaakk aanndd ttoo aallllooww ffoorr tthheeffaaccttoorryy ttoo uunnddeerrggoo iittssaannnnuuaall mmaaiinntteennaannccee..

The factory closes onFriday, December 20 andre-opens on Tuesday,January 14.

Despatch services willcease on December 20 andorders must be received by

Thursday, December 19 toallow for despatch the nextday.

Limited despatch forsmall orders will be avail-able from January 6 whilenormal deliveries will

resume on January 13.The office will be open for

enquiries up to and includ-ing Monday, December 23and will return on Thursday,January 2.

AAkkuubbrraa’’ss ccoonnttrriibbuuttiioonnttoo tthhee eeccoonnoommiicc aannddssoocciiaall ffaabbrriicc ooff AAuussttrraalliiaahhaass bbeeeenn rreeccooggnniisseedd wwiitthhtthhee ccoommppaannyy wwiinnnniinngg tthheebblluuee rriibbaanndd aawwaarrdd aatt tthheeFFaammiillyy BBuussiinneessss AAuussttrraalliiaaccoonnffeerreennccee iinn TTaassmmaanniiaa..

The Distinguished FamilyBusiness Of The Year awardfor 2013 was presented toAkubra for its achievementof successfully blendingfamily and business inter-ests.

The CEO of FamilyBusiness Australia, PhilippaTaylor, said Akubra was anoutstanding company andits practices were some-thing that all family busi-nesses could learn from.

“Family businessesaccount for 70 percent of allAustralian businesses andemploy 50 percent of thepopulation each year,” shesaid.

“There are a myriad offamily business stories tocelebrate and Akubra is join-ing an impressive list ofnational award winners aswe continue to recognisetheir contribution toAustralia’s future.

“The Akubra name is syn-onymous with the land-scape of outback Australiaand their unique hats forman important part of the

Australian national uniform.“The Keir’s family busi-

ness, now in its fourth gen-eration, has survived reces-sions, depressions andWorld Wars.

“Through this the familyhas maintained their passionfor their product andemployees.”

Stephen Keir, NikkiMcLeod and StaceyMcIntyre issued a jointstatement to staff, employ-ees, customers and sup-porters after the award wasannounced.

“This is a huge honour forour families and one that weare very pleased to sharewith each and every one asour broader family,” theysaid.

“Family BusinessAustralia is the peak bodycommitted to contributing to

Australia’s future through adynamic and sustainablefamily business community.

“The strength and suc-cess of the family businesssector is vital to the future ofAustralia’s economy, com-munity and culture.

“We would like to takethis opportunity to thank youso much for your loyalty,service and support to ourgreat company.”

“We would not be receiv-ing an award like this with-out the great team we haveworking with us every day atAkubra.

“We would also like tothank our retail customerswho support and promoteour hats, our suppliers andour many advisors who havebeen with us along the jour-ney.”

AAnnyy ssmmaallll bbuussiinneessss,,ppaarrttiiccuullaarrllyy wwhheenn iinn aarreemmoottee ttoowwnn iinn tthheeNNoorrtthheerrnn TTeerrrriittoorryy,, ffaacceessmmoorree tthhaann tthhee uussuuaall cchhaall--lleennggeess ooff ssuurrvviivviinngg,, lleettaalloonnee ggrroowwiinngg..

There was only one obvi-ous answer for the TopSaddlery and BushBoutique in Katherine.Develop a website and sellonline.

The move has been sosuccessful and the websiteso professional that itsdeveloper, Julie Newton,was nominated for the 2013Telstra Northern TerritoryBusiness Women’s Award.

Julie, who is also a mem-ber of the Northern TerritoryGovernment’s BusinessAdvisory Council, finishedsecond to Darwinoptometrist, Helen

Summers, who went on towin the National award inthat category.

Julie and her husbandGeoff opened their businessin 1991, primarily makingand repairing saddles andhorse gear.

Since then it has expand-ed to not only retain theworkshop but also developa retail operation that has aclose relationship, not onlywith the pastoral industry,but also with remote aborig-inal communities.

However the remotenessof their business posedrestrictions in expansionand that is when Julie decid-ed they had better join thedigital age.

“It was the only way wecould survive in retail, letalone grow,” Julie said.

“The response has been

nothing short of amazing.“It has been a steep

learning curve and we madeplenty of mistakes but weare really proud of our website and it has been a fan-tastic learning curve.

“We make sure we keepthe site updated and fresh tokeep our regular customerschecking the site and hope-fully attract new ones.

“We also regularly surveyour customers and listen totheir feedback.”

While selling online isnow so popular how do theysell Akubra hats that fit?

“There is a little trick tothis,” Julie said.

“We ask the customer toget someone to measuretheir head then we add just alittle more and so far only onehat has been returned to us.

“Measuring boots andshoes and getting that rightis so much harder.

“Akubra hats are so pop-ular out here but nearlyevery hat we sell is either aRough Rider or a Bronco.

“I must say, that as a sup-plier Akubra is very profes-sional and up there with thevery best.”

OUR OWN HATS: The joy is obvious after all 18 received their Akubra Cattleman.

WINNERS: The chairman of theFamily Business Australia AndyKennard presents the award to

Nikki McLeod and Stacey McIntyre.

SUCCESSFUL: Julie Newton andpart of the Akubra display at their

Katherine (Northern Territory) store.

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AKUBRA MOUNTS NATIONALADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

OUR VERY OWN HATS!THANK YOU AKUBRA

We are taking a break

HOW TO SURVIVE IN RETAILIN THE OUTBACK

AKUBRA WI N S NATIONAL AWARD

Akubra is in the midst of a national television and radio advertisingcampaign in the lead up to Christmas.

TThhee ccoommppaannyy’’ss tteelleevvii--ssiioonn ccaammppaaiiggnn wwiitthh tthheeSSoouutthheerrnn CCrroossss NNeettwwoorrkkssttaarrtteedd oonn NNoovveemmbbeerr 2244aanndd ccoonnttiinnuueess uunnttiillDDeecceemmbbeerr 2211 wwiitthhSSoouutthheerrnn CCrroossss iinncclluuddiinnggiinn tthhaatt ddeeaall tthhee 4400 ssttaattiioonnssiinn iittss ttrruucckk rraaddiioo nneettwwoorrkk..

The radio campaign iswith the Ray HadleyMorning Show, which is net-worked into four states andwill be used to promote the

new range of Akubra brand-ed leather goods that havejust come on the market(see front page story).

This combined campaignwill reach the bulk ofAustralia’s major marketswith the television compo-nent taking the messagefrom Tasmania north toMelville Island and all pointsin between.

It also uses the AliceSprings based Imparja net-work, designed specifically

for country people living andworking away from thecoast.

The Ray Hadley MorningShow, which emanates fromthe Sydney based 2GB,covers that city and most ofNew South Wales through10 regional stations, most ofQueensland through anoth-er 11 regional stations andcountry Victoria and SouthAustralia.

“The lead up toChristmas is always the

busiest time for retailersand we have mounted thiscampaign to help get themessage across that anAkubra product would makethe ideal gift,” ManagingDirector, Stephen Keir, said.

“It will also make peopleaware that our range hasbeen expanded to includeAkubra branded overnightbags, handbags, travelaccessories, wallets andpurses.”

TThhiiss hhaappppyy ggrroouupp ooffpprrooffeessssiioonnaall ccoonnffeerreenncceeoorrggaanniisseerrss ccoouulldd nnoott wwiippeetthhee ssmmiilleess ooffff tthheeiirr ffaacceessaafftteerr eeaacchh wwaass ffiitttteedd wwiitthhaann AAkkuubbrraa CCaattttlleemmaann,, iinnssaanndd,, aatt aa rreecceenntt eevveenntt iinnAAlliiccee SSpprriinnggss..

The organisers, fromAustralia and New Zealand,were attending the AliceSprings Stampede familwhich is a joint initiativebetween the Alice SpringsConvention Centre and theNorthern TerritoryConvention Bureau (NTCB).

It was used to showcasethe best of Alice Springs asa convention venue and hadan immediate impact with

one convention alreadybooked.

Dugal McIntyre headednorth to set up the Akubrafitting station with each del-egate measured and pre-

sented with their Akubra asa joint PR exercise.

Kylie Mansfield, the Salesand Marketing Manager forthe Alice SpringsConvention Centre, said the

18 conference organiserswere overjoyed with theirAkubras.

“They were like overexcited kids in a lolly shop,”Kylie said.

“Once they had the hatson their heads they rarelytook them off and worethem at all our outdooractivities.

“Akubra is an Australianicon and something veryfamiliar in this part of theworld.”

Those activities includeda guided walk around AliceSprings Desert Park, a visitto Simpson’s Gap in theWest MacDonnell Rangesand a camel ride withPyndan Camel Tracks.

AAss uussuuaall,, tthhee AAkkuubbrraaffaaccttoorryy iiss cclloossiinngg oovveerr tthheeCChhrriissttmmaass--NNeeww YYeeaarr ppeerrii--oodd ttoo ggiivvee oouurr hhaarrdd wwoorrkk--iinngg ssttaaffff aa wweellll--ddeesseerrvveeddbbrreeaakk aanndd ttoo aallllooww ffoorr tthheeffaaccttoorryy ttoo uunnddeerrggoo iittssaannnnuuaall mmaaiinntteennaannccee..

The factory closes onFriday, December 20 andre-opens on Tuesday,January 14.

Despatch services willcease on December 20 andorders must be received by

Thursday, December 19 toallow for despatch the nextday.

Limited despatch forsmall orders will be avail-able from January 6 whilenormal deliveries will

resume on January 13.The office will be open for

enquiries up to and includ-ing Monday, December 23and will return on Thursday,January 2.

AAkkuubbrraa’’ss ccoonnttrriibbuuttiioonnttoo tthhee eeccoonnoommiicc aannddssoocciiaall ffaabbrriicc ooff AAuussttrraalliiaahhaass bbeeeenn rreeccooggnniisseedd wwiitthhtthhee ccoommppaannyy wwiinnnniinngg tthheebblluuee rriibbaanndd aawwaarrdd aatt tthheeFFaammiillyy BBuussiinneessss AAuussttrraalliiaaccoonnffeerreennccee iinn TTaassmmaanniiaa..

The Distinguished FamilyBusiness Of The Year awardfor 2013 was presented toAkubra for its achievementof successfully blendingfamily and business inter-ests.

The CEO of FamilyBusiness Australia, PhilippaTaylor, said Akubra was anoutstanding company andits practices were some-thing that all family busi-nesses could learn from.

“Family businessesaccount for 70 percent of allAustralian businesses andemploy 50 percent of thepopulation each year,” shesaid.

“There are a myriad offamily business stories tocelebrate and Akubra is join-ing an impressive list ofnational award winners aswe continue to recognisetheir contribution toAustralia’s future.

“The Akubra name is syn-onymous with the land-scape of outback Australiaand their unique hats forman important part of the

Australian national uniform.“The Keir’s family busi-

ness, now in its fourth gen-eration, has survived reces-sions, depressions andWorld Wars.

“Through this the familyhas maintained their passionfor their product andemployees.”

Stephen Keir, NikkiMcLeod and StaceyMcIntyre issued a jointstatement to staff, employ-ees, customers and sup-porters after the award wasannounced.

“This is a huge honour forour families and one that weare very pleased to sharewith each and every one asour broader family,” theysaid.

“Family BusinessAustralia is the peak bodycommitted to contributing to

Australia’s future through adynamic and sustainablefamily business community.

“The strength and suc-cess of the family businesssector is vital to the future ofAustralia’s economy, com-munity and culture.

“We would like to takethis opportunity to thank youso much for your loyalty,service and support to ourgreat company.”

“We would not be receiv-ing an award like this with-out the great team we haveworking with us every day atAkubra.

“We would also like tothank our retail customerswho support and promoteour hats, our suppliers andour many advisors who havebeen with us along the jour-ney.”

AAnnyy ssmmaallll bbuussiinneessss,,ppaarrttiiccuullaarrllyy wwhheenn iinn aarreemmoottee ttoowwnn iinn tthheeNNoorrtthheerrnn TTeerrrriittoorryy,, ffaacceessmmoorree tthhaann tthhee uussuuaall cchhaall--lleennggeess ooff ssuurrvviivviinngg,, lleettaalloonnee ggrroowwiinngg..

There was only one obvi-ous answer for the TopSaddlery and BushBoutique in Katherine.Develop a website and sellonline.

The move has been sosuccessful and the websiteso professional that itsdeveloper, Julie Newton,was nominated for the 2013Telstra Northern TerritoryBusiness Women’s Award.

Julie, who is also a mem-ber of the Northern TerritoryGovernment’s BusinessAdvisory Council, finishedsecond to Darwinoptometrist, Helen

Summers, who went on towin the National award inthat category.

Julie and her husbandGeoff opened their businessin 1991, primarily makingand repairing saddles andhorse gear.

Since then it has expand-ed to not only retain theworkshop but also developa retail operation that has aclose relationship, not onlywith the pastoral industry,but also with remote aborig-inal communities.

However the remotenessof their business posedrestrictions in expansionand that is when Julie decid-ed they had better join thedigital age.

“It was the only way wecould survive in retail, letalone grow,” Julie said.

“The response has been

nothing short of amazing.“It has been a steep

learning curve and we madeplenty of mistakes but weare really proud of our website and it has been a fan-tastic learning curve.

“We make sure we keepthe site updated and fresh tokeep our regular customerschecking the site and hope-fully attract new ones.

“We also regularly surveyour customers and listen totheir feedback.”

While selling online isnow so popular how do theysell Akubra hats that fit?

“There is a little trick tothis,” Julie said.

“We ask the customer toget someone to measuretheir head then we add just alittle more and so far only onehat has been returned to us.

“Measuring boots andshoes and getting that rightis so much harder.

“Akubra hats are so pop-ular out here but nearlyevery hat we sell is either aRough Rider or a Bronco.

“I must say, that as a sup-plier Akubra is very profes-sional and up there with thevery best.”

OUR OWN HATS: The joy is obvious after all 18 received their Akubra Cattleman.

WINNERS: The chairman of theFamily Business Australia AndyKennard presents the award to

Nikki McLeod and Stacey McIntyre.

SUCCESSFUL: Julie Newton andpart of the Akubra display at their

Katherine (Northern Territory) store.

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AAKKUUBBRRAA P.O. Box 287, Kempsey. 2440 • Phone (02) 6562.6177 • Fax (02) 6562.8726 • www.akubra.com.au DECEMBER 2013 Vol. 33 No. 8

AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER

FINALLY IT’S OFFICIAL.WE ARE WORLD BEATERS

IInn llaasstt yyeeaarr’’ss DDeecceemmbbeerreeddiittiioonn ooff AAkkuubbrraa NNeewwsswwee bbooaasstteedd tthhaatt oouurr hhoommeettoowwnn ooff KKeemmppsseeyy ((NNSSWW))wwaass ooffffiicciiaallllyy iinn tthheeGGuuiinnnneessss BBooookk ooffRReeccoorrddss ffoorr tthhee mmoosstt ppeeoo--ppllee ggaatthheerreedd iinn tthhee oonneeppllaaccee aatt tthhee oonnee ttiimmeewweeaarriinngg AAkkuubbrraa hhaattss..

We were a tiny bit prema-ture in making the boast.Twelve months premature,actually.

In November last year1912 people gathered atRiverside Park, on thebanks of the Macleay River,to try and set the worldrecord.

Unofficially, we were toldthe record was ours.

Last month, after a ner-vous year long wait by theorganisers, the LondonOffice of Guinness WorldRecords made it official.

The early morning eventcoincided with theKempsey Cup, which wassponsored by Akubra andwas broadcast live acrossAustralia by the popularSunrise breakfast televisionprogram.

The event was coordinat-ed by Kempsey Shire

Council’s EconomicSustainability Unit with sup-port from the MacleayArgus newspaper and manylocal business and commu-nity organisations.

“The aim of the eventwas to make history for theMacleay and show we areproud to be associated with

such an iconic Australianlegend as the Akubra hat,”unit manager, SusannahSmith, said.

“Guinness guidelines forcreating an official worldrecord are extremely rigor-ous, with evidence requiredfor all aspects of the eventand the official count.

“As far as we were con-cerned, the event was ahuge success because wefar exceeded our target of1000 people, but once theevent was over we still hadthe huge task of bundlingtogether all our evidenceand shipping it to London.

“We have been a littlenervous that it’s takenGuinness this long todeclare us official worldrecord breakers, but they’vecome through with the offi-cial news now, so we’rereally relieved and delight-ed.”

AKUBRA NEWS

AKUBRA. THE PERFECTACCESSORY WITH A BIKINI

NNeevveerr,, aass oouurr ppiiccttuurreesshhoowwss,, hhaass tthheerree bbeeeennssuucchh aa ssttuunnnniinngg wwaayy ttoosshhooww ooffff aann AAkkuubbrraa aannddppeerrhhaappss nnooww iitt wwiillllbbeeccoommee aa ffaasshhiioonn ssttaattee--mmeenntt oonn tthhee bbeeaacchh,,tteeaammeedd wwiitthh tthhee bbiikkiinnii..

If it does it will bebecause of a 24 year oldlawyer from Burleigh Headsin Queensland who decidedto follow her dream.

Twelve months agoBecky Jack turned her backon a career in law to createher own company, Peonyand design swimwear withan emphasis on uncompli-cated, natural styles.

She has been so suc-cessful and her swimwear

has been accepted so read-ily around the world thatBecky was recently invitedto show her range at theMercedes-Benz FashionFestival in Brisbane.

She also wanted to makea statement to supportAustralian business sodecided to team Akubrahats with her swimwear.

“I am passionate aboutAustralian manufacturingand proud that my swim-wear is designed and madeon the Gold Coast and sell-ing internationally,” Beckysaid.

“I am proud that Peony is100 percent Australian andsomething that sets meapart from other swimwearbrands.

“All garments are handmade in limited quantities,rather than mass producedoverseas, so my customersknow they are gettingsomething truly special.

“I chose to includeAkubra hats in my show fortwo reasons.

“Akubra is a whollyowned Australian iconwhich emphasised theAustralian roots of my com-pany and aesthetically theybrought a bit of toughnessto a very feminine and floralcollection.

“The response we gotwas amazing and I am sohappy how the show turnedout.”

A SEA OF HATS: Part of the crowd that helped Akubra and Kempsey to a world record.

A NEW FASHION TREND: Youhave to admit, the Akubra adds

something to the bikini..

OH MY HAT!!!AKUBRA IS DIVERSIFYING

AAkkuubbrraa,, ffoorr tthhee ffiirrssttttiimmee iinn 113300 yyeeaarrss,, iissddiivveerrssiiffyyiinngg aanndd vveennttuurr--iinngg aawwaayy ffrroomm tthhee ssoolleepprroodduuccttiioonn ooff hhaattss aannddiinnttoo tthhee wwoorrlldd ooff qquuaalliittyyAAkkuubbrraa bbrraannddeedd lluuxxuurryylleeaatthheerr ggooooddss..

The company has signeda licensing agreement withanother Australian ownedfamily business, DKM Blue,to give that company globalrights to produce a range ofAkubra branded luxuryleather products includingovernight bags, hand bags,travel accessories, walletsand purses.

All these products will behandsomely presented ingift boxes or dust bags andwill be available throughselected retailers, onlineand on QANTAS interna-tional flights as a duty freepurchase.

The complete range isalso available atwww.akubrastore.com.au

The deal with DKMBlue’s two owners, brothersDorry and Danny Kordahi,has been three years in themaking and came after anapproach from them toAkubra.

It is also one thatManaging Director, StephenKeir and his board agonised

over for some time.“There was a lot of emo-

tion attached to making adecision to break with tradi-tion and move away fromsolely making hats,”Stephen Keir said.

“A lot of market researchwas undertaken before weagreed it was the right wayto move the company for-ward.

“All the products will bedesigned in Australia usingAustralian leather.

“Let me assure everyonethat Akubra hats will alwaysbe manufactured inAustralia, in Kempsey andthis deal will underpin thatcommitment.

“However there areinherent risks with remain-ing a one product companyand we had to address thatrisk.

“Not everyone wears ahat and over the years manypeople had asked us whywe did not produce otherleather goods.

“We had never reallytaken those suggestionstoo seriously but when DKMBlue approached us werealised this was an oppor-tunity to expand our marketbase.

“Now we can provide ourcustomers and those whodo not wear hats with arange of quality productscarrying the Akubra name.

“This represents a signif-icant step forward in ourhistory.

“The nature of globalbusiness and manufactur-ing in Australia is evolving ata rapid pace and it seemsnow that there are morerisks than ever before.

“Diversifying will enableus to protect the variousstakeholders that supportour business and provide aplatform for growth.

“What attracted us toDKM Blue was their exper-tise in design, quality prod-uct development and theability to offer us a completesupply chain managementsolution.

“They share our commit-ment not only to quality butalso ethical business princi-ples.

“Just like us, they expectthe same standards from allstakeholders.

“This has provided alevel of comfort both to ourboard of directors as well asall of the family owners ofAkubra.

“This will allow us to con-tinue to make Akubra hatsin Kempsey for generationsto come.

“Akubra is very good atmaking hats and we haveforged a reputation as oneof the best in the world.

“However, we are not setup to make other leathergoods and an enormousamount of capital would berequired to do so.

“This agreement withDKM Blue was the obviousanswer.”

HISTORIC AGREEMENT: Akubra’s Managing Director, Stephen Keir , signsthe historic agreement with Dorry Kordahi (left) and Danny Kordahi.