Blundstones, an iconic Aussie branded work boot will close all manufacturing operations in Tasmania and move production to India and Thailand. 300 workers and a good deal of goodwill will move overseas. The company is still owned by the original family and has made boots in Hobart for many years. I have had a few pairs of these boots and can vouch that they are very comfortable. My current pair are a little underused, since I am a bit of an office slug most of the time. They are still very comfortable and I love the fact that there are no annoying laces to do up.
Economic dislocation continues apace as companies cannot be competitive with Australian labour rates. There is only so much extra that people will pay for an Aussie product.
Our kids school has a requirement from the uniform contractor that all items have to be made in Australia. It certainly means that they are of a high quality, but the cost is about 50 percent more for some items. It is a challenging business proposition to do that in a larger market with many similar competing products.
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