A Q&A with David and Sharon Hamilton from Fella Hamilton

David – I am David Hamilton and my mother, Fella, started our business on 24th September 1969. Both of my parents worked incredible hard in the business, and it is what I have known all my life. You could say women’s fashion is in the Hamilton family DNA. 

I am Managing Director, and we have been at our Head Office based in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne for approximately 28 years. 

Sharon – My name is Sharon Hamilton, and I am the CEO of Fella Hamilton. David and I are husband and wife and have been working in the business together for 30 years. We are a great team and complement each other with our various strengths. Originally, I come from a pharmacy background.
While we both work with everyone in the business, I tend to focus on HR and finance. I like the statistical and analytical side of business and have an eye for detail when designing shops and proofing catalogues. We both also investigate and invest in programs or equipment that enable our company to work smarter and more efficiently. 

David – Having started at the cutting room table, I tend to spend time with the designer and planner, helping curate our fits, styles, colours, patterns, and quality. Come to think of it, both of us have a passion for quality. How our range presents, fits, and lasts the test of time is extremely important and is a strength we both possess. I am also very much entrenched in supporting our production manager and team. We used to have slower periods during the year and now I find we are working on production 12 months of the year! It’s incredible! 

David – Our business started with Fella, of course, making terry towelling turbans. This grew to a terry towelling range. We wholesaled to many local and interstate boutiques. Mum and I used to travel often to display and sell Fella Hamilton from hotel rooms! 1987 was proud moment – opening our first store in Riversdale Road, Hawthorn.  

Both of us have worked across many areas of the business, since opening our office and warehouse in St Kilda. My sister and her husband were also involved in the business, and along with the five of us, and a handful of staff we moved to our current factory in Moorabbin approximately 28 years ago.  

Since Fella’s retirement in 2005 (although she remained very active, assisting us for many years after), and my sisters’ in 2014, it has been Sharon and myself at the helm. We are still very family-orientated and have a very dedicated team. One of our original machinists just retired this year and one of our Store Managers worked with us for over 30 years. Many staff work 10, 15, 20, even 25 years with Fella Hamilton.

The Fella Hamilton head office team took part in promotion for Breast Cancer Network Australia in October 2023.

Sharon – It is important to have close and respectful relationships with our staff, local makers, and suppliers. We have retail staff all over the country, and visit everyone as often as we can. Our factory and head office team has grown to over 50 people and we cultivate strong relationships with them to manage and support them effectively. Everyone is different and we recognise that it is a balancing act. We are committed to maintaining a safe and comfortable workplace. 

We also work closely with several charitable organisations. We think this is very important because we are in a position to give back to the community, and our customers appreciate this. They are part of the wider community and if we can answer a call-out for help, we try to help where we can. Whether it be smaller organisations with community members suffering, after a disaster, or larger organisations that we can collaborate with on projects. 

David – I was nine when my mother started the business – I guess it was a natural progression to join my parents. They spoke a lot about business, and it excited me, so I wanted to join them and they needed help in a growing business. Working after school and later after studying at uni, I started with Adi at the cutting room tables layering up fabric, fusing, and bundling.  

From there I attached studs to all the leisurewear garments. Then, I helped with deliveries and sales which included travelling and selling the ranges. My sister and I helped market the business with advertising. Together the family has seen growth in terms of number of stores, staff and in technology.  

Sharon – I was previously a pharmacist by profession, and I enjoyed the business side of things. After a frightening incident at work where I was held up, David suggested I consider putting my energies into the family business.  

Among other tasks, I started with payroll, human resources and as the business grew so did our roles. We take pride in the fact that our business is thriving through many tough times in the retail sector. Our commitment to improvement contributes to our success. We are innovative and invest in resources and equipment to continue our success. An example of this is the new Pathfinder cutting machine. This machine reduces waste and minimises the time it takes to cut our styles to send out for manufacturing. I find it highly rewarding to enhance efficiency and productivity in ways that minimise stress for our staff and reduce our environmental impact. 

Sharon – Each day is different, but the beginning of the week always starts with an analysis of the previous business trading results. I also have meetings with retail operations, the planner and the marketing team to review the previous week and the weeks ahead. 

David – I often spend time in the design room helping curate the range, discussing budgets for buying plans, and taking the time to ensure our commitment to quality never waivers. Sometimes we visit our local stores, and even take the transfers with us. 

Sharon – There are many emails to attend to and I generally go directly to the department; whether it be finance, IT, or production; to discuss those emails, organise plans, help solve issues that may arise, and set meeting times. We really are hands on.

David – I often bring our dog, Bella, into work and she strolls around to catch up with everyone. She gets me up and out into the factory, as I have to go looking for her because she loves all the staff, especially those who feed her! I find it amazing how the factory operates with the amount of stock that comes in and out and I am in awe at how everyone works together to get the best garments possible for our customers out the door and into stores and our online department. I also spend time with the finance team with all things from lease and invoices to maintenance issues in stores. 

A machinist works at Fella Hamilton’s manufacturing facility in Melbourne.

Sharon – We strongly believe in the morals of fairness. If we pay our people accordingly, in turn they like to support our business. Working conditions are important – if staff aren’t safe, comfortable, and skilled, we won’t get 100% commitment from them.  

David – I have spent time with all our local makers in the past. Some have been with us for ten years or more. We only use companies that are Ethical Clothing Australia accredited. It’s important to keep jobs in Australia. We know what conditions they work in; our makers are happy because we can keep them in work, and they improve their skills and production as we test them with new designs. Our growth has meant larger quantities, so we can give them more work.  

Fella Hamilton has been accredited since 2020. Only specific Fella Hamilton product lines are proudly made in Australia and accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia. 

Sharon – Our customers not only expect quality, but our retail staff tell us they want Australia made. One of the challenges we face is cost – of course manufacturing locally costs more than importing from overseas, but our customers love to support us, and support manufacturing locally. They are invested in our commitment and engage with us through our social media streams. Whenever we showcase our staff on social media, giving them a glimpse of our operation, the customer loves it and they feel connected. This stems back to being family-oriented – everyone is part of the family. That is a real benefit of manufacturing locally. 

David – Our Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation ensures that our local workers are paid appropriately, receive all the legal entitlements and are working in safe conditions throughout the entire supply chain. This is key in keeping manufacturing alive in Australia. It helps put money back into the economy and allows us to connect with a broader and larger proportion of women who can shop at Fella Hamilton.

One challenge besides production costs being more expensive onshore than offshore is the limited amount of ethically accredited makers. However, we are fortunate that there is still a good selection. 

Sharon – Any anniversary is a good one, so 55 is a great achievement. We are in a solid place with a national business. We are growing online, so we have a customer that is not just going into bricks & mortar, but also now enjoy the ease and practicality of buying online. Our customers are still supported by an excellent customer service team six days a week on the phone from our head office. 

Our milestones are that we have long-standing employees with us, we have increased our team as we are growing, we have expanded our online fulfilment warehouse to accommodate the growth, that we are a national family-owned brand and still strongly supporting our local manufacturing.  

David – It is exciting to see that what my mother created is now a second-generation and potentially a third-generation as an Australian family-owned business. 

It’s amazing how the business has evolved over that period. I’m proud that my family created & maintained it for more than half a century. It shows what hard work & persistence can achieve. We have had an incredible journey for the 55 years of Fella Hamilton and we are excited for what we believe is a very bright future. 

David and Sharon with Bella the dog.