In the early days, Hills was very much an importing business with top brands from around the world, a lot of them, unfortunately, now have closed. Hills used to import from the United States, from Stetson and Christie’s in London, then started manufacturing here.
My grandfather started a necktie business at the end of [World War II], which is a totally different garment and very fashion-orientated. Once he picked Hills up, he wanted to go more into fashion. It was the first time Hills had actually manufactured top hats, bowlers, homburgs, all in-house.
We’re still making hats for other brands domestically like Rembrandt and lots of other smaller companies as well. In some ways, [that] is where the business is going.
We still do bespoke one-off pieces for our clients either through the Hatmosphere at the factory, or online. People can put a combination of different materials together so they’re part of the made-to-measure experience.
The backing of the Government and corporate businesses has been a really strong backbone. We manufacture all the presentation kits for the All Blacks and the Black Caps.
What is your role in the company?
I created an alter ego character, Hatman, that developed over time.
We had a contract with the New South Wales Police, which was an amazing achievement. I used to arrive [at their office] when everyone was meeting, and they would say: “Where’s the Kiwi? Here’s Hatman.”
One day, I actually donned a mask and a legionnaire’s flap and a top hat as my friendship with them grew, and it was so well received I started to [get contracts with] retailers in Australia. It got to a point where if I didn’t turn up as Hatman, I’d probably get kicked out of the stores.
I used to be very nervous about it because of our contracts with the police and the army, where I thought I would lose a little bit of street cred in the corporate world, but it’s been really well embraced.
How did the pandemic affect the business?
I had some Japanese friends here in New Zealand and they left as Japan was closing down. I could see everything [happening] overseas, so within three days prior to lockdown, we switched to making masks.
We made thousands of masks which enabled us to exist today. We probably wouldn’t have survived because all our orders globally were cancelled. When [lockdowns were] over we switched back to making hats as quickly as we went into making masks.
Where are you featured overseas?
In the US, we’re regularly supplying J.J. Hat Centre in New York on 5th Avenue. We work with a company called Goorin Brothers, where we work in collaboration under their label as well as our own from time to time.
We’re in a group of stores, CA4LA in Japan. I actually arrived on their doorstep. I rang initially to try and get an appointment, which was impossible. I sort of falsified that I had an appointment and arrived in a gold suit, gold mask, and a gold hat. I walked in the door and immediately, they wrote out an order. We’ve had a really strong relationship since then, even throughout Covid. The Japanese fashion scene is very quirky. It’s wonderful to be there.
What is coming up next for Hills Hats?
We’re just making our summer range now and frantically getting it out the door.
Up until about four weeks ago, I was putting through all the corporate orders and just trying to get it out of the way, but if you walked into the sewing room now, it’s wool fashion.
We’re about a month late from where we would like to be. Because of the election, I held back a little bit. I don’t think too many retailers were that keen on putting pen to paper just because of the unknown.
I really wanted to be a New Zealand manufacturer, so Hills Hats is always New Zealand made.
What has kept the business alive for so long?
Over 150 years, there have been different directions and different ownership. I consider myself to be a caretaker so everything I do is for the longevity of the business, something that will carry on as a New Zealand institution.
Our corporate business is a lot smaller than it used to be. We used to be so entrenched [manufacturing for] the army and a lot of that’s gone offshore unfortunately, so we’ve had to replace that. We’ve done it with fashion which is fantastic.
Domestically, we’re in specialist clothing stores, but that’s also changing now to a little bit more lifestyle-based. We are so well supported by the music scene here in New Zealand with everyone from Fat Freddy’s Drop to Shapeshifter, Kora, Troy Kingi, to Tami Neilson.
Tami actually asked me to make a special hat that she presented to Willie Nelson that he wears, which was amazing. The music scene is fantastic for us.
My grandfather’s saying for the business was that only the best is good enough, and that plays in the back of my mind all the time.
Alka Prasad is an Auckland-based business reporter covering small business and retail.
