“They wanted my label because it was made in Australia, I don’t know what they’ll think of an Australian label being made in Japan,” Dzananovic says.
According to Winsome’s spokesman, the good intentions of a handful of designers to buy local wasn’t enough for the hosiery manufacturer, which needs to be producing stock in bulk and has to compete with cut-price labour costs offshore.
“We just don’t get the bulk orders from our local companies. We need the likes of Sussan and Portmans and Jacqui E to be looking at buying locally, but when they all have their own sourcing agencies and offices in China why would they use us?” the spokesman said.
He says even recruiting for experienced mechanics to work in his factory was extremely difficult. The search was compounded when Pacific Brands shut down seven factories and axed 1800 jobs in Victoria in 2009.
“People don’t want to work in hosiery,” he says. “Recruiting is very difficult. I tried to get mechanics just after Kayser shut down, but the mechanics said it was a dying industry, they didn’t want to work in it anymore.”
Upon hearing the news of Winsome’s impending closure, Dzananovic looked into purchasing the knitting machines herself.
“I was looking into buying the machines from Winsome Hosiery to try to salvage that element of manufacturing in Australia. I looked into getting some government funding, and I didn’t get it,” she says.
She has since had to contact all of her clients to inform them the product will no longer be Australian-made and explain why.
“It’s not by choice that we’re forced to go offshore. I tried to reiterate to my customers that, although it was a real challenge to manufacture in Australia, I persevered because I wanted to be a part of maintaining Australian manufacturing,” she says.
Winsome’s closure has forced Dzananovic to begin to explore new innovations in her industry.
“My next step will be to get a grant of some sort to look into the different innovations that exist to diversify the industry I’m in. I think that’s an interesting approach for companies in this globalised industry to look for. As it sits now, we can’t compete on price and wages,” she says.
“For a country like Australia to be competitive it really is about innovation. Buying old machines from a business that is closing isn’t competitive. The good thing that’s come out of this closure for me is it’s really switched my thinking into innovation and sustainability.”
For Winsome Hosiery’s spokesman, this statement rings far too true.
“It is very sad and deeply regrettable that Winsome is closing, but unfortunately the economic situation dictates we are no longer a viable business,” he says. “It’s a dead industry and it cannot be resurrected.”
