The iconic Australian hatmaker Akubra, famed for its felt hats integral to Australia's national identity, has been sold to billionaire miners Andrew and Nicola Forrest, marking a historic shift in ownership.
This is the first time in nearly five generations the brand, donned by Olympians, military, Hollywood stars and even Royalty, has changed hands.
Stephen Keir, representing the family that has owned Akubra for nearly 150 years, expressed a mixture of pride and emotion at the handover.
"We are super proud as a family," he said.
“We took ourselves out of the picture and thought to ourselves ‘what does the brand need? What does the company need?’ This is the decision.”
In a landmark move, Akubra, the quintessential Australian hatmaker, changes hands for the first time in five generations. (Source: 1News)
Andrew Forrest, known as 'Twiggy', highlight the national significance of the acquisition.
"It's gotta be hats on for Australia," he declared.
"There's nothing more proudly Australian than Akubra.”
The multimillion-dollar deal, which has been in the pipeline for years, came as a surprise to many Akubra employees, who were only recently informed about the takeover.
Nicola Forrest sought to reassure the staff, emphasising her acquisition’s positive implications and the commitment to keeping the company Australian-owned.
"I think this epitomises the hard work and the backbone of Australia," she said.
The Forrests are no strangers to absorbing Australian heritage brands into their cache.
Just three years ago they acquired shoe brand R.M. Williiams for nearly $200 million, and that was closely followed by their purchase of fashion house Camilla.
They have even hinted at possible future collobrations between their brands.
“I have asked Camilla about that, and she loves the idea,” he said.
“She’s up for it.”
The Keirs had long harboured ambitions to expand their company but faced capital constraints.
Each Akubra hat takes six weeks to make and involves 162 processes from start to finish.
The Forrests said they wanted to take it from a classic bush hat and turn it into a global trendsetter.
SHARE ME