78 australiancountry.net.auFor most people, the word UGG is synonymous with
Australia: just like Vegemite and the Hills Hoist,
our iconic sheepskin footwear is known the world
over. But what most don’t realise is that UGG is not
in and of itself a brand, but a generic name for a
sheepskin boot and more than 96 per cent of the
world’s UGG boots are now made in Asia. Believe it
or not, if you have a pair of UGG boots at home that
you’ve purchased in the past few years, chances are
they weren’t made in Australia. But one Australian
family-run business continues to buck the trend,
crafting real Australian-made UGGs made from
our very own Merino wool and showing bigger
corporations moving off shore that manufacturing
in Australia is alive and well.
Enter Todd and Hannah Watts, the owners of
UGG Since 1974, a third-generation, family-owned
business, specialising in handcrafting Australian-made
UGG boots from start to fi nish at their workshop in
south-east Queensland. The company had its early
beginnings in the 1950s, when Todd’s grandfather, Arthur
Springthorpe, travelled the rural towns of Australia,
working as a wool classer and becoming an expert in all
things Merino and sheepskin. Arthur went on to start
making UGG boots and moccasins in his shed in Little Bay,
NSW, and, almost fi ve decades on, the company continues
to turn out high-quality, Australian-made UGG boots, one
pair at a time, using many of the same techniques from
all those years ago.
Todd and Hannah are both locals to the Gold Coast and
Todd grew up in the workspace of what was by then, his
parents’ sheepskin business, wandering the wide boundsof the manually operated workshop, tinkering with tools
and taking piecework such as keyrings and belts home on
weekends to earn pocket money for the school holidays. As
UGG boots grew in popularity, so did the company, and by
the time Todd had completed his business degree at Griffi th
University and met Hannah, a lawyer, he was ready to take
a lead role in the operations at UGG Since 1974.
However, after years of successes and growth, Todd’s
parents were eventually ready to move on and in 2014, the
business was sold to a local investor who had dreams of
mass expansion for the company. Sadly, just three short
years later, the family was distraught to see the decades-old
business being circled by liquidators, with the company’s
doors likely to close for good.
“Hannah and I had to think seriously about whether
to buy the business back, as the manufacturing industry
within Australia had changed so much,” Todd says,
referring to the closure of manufacturing plants around the
country in favour of cheap off shore labour. “Ultimately, we
decided that with a revived focus on Australian materials
and craftsmanship, and an optimism that consumer
consciousness would continue to grow, we’d be able to
draw on the quality of the product and our passion for the
brand to turn the business around.”
Todd and Hannah went on to buy the business back,
ensuring the age-old workshop’s doors stayed open and
providing continuity of employment for more than 30
staff , some of whom had worked for Todd’s grandparents
and many more who watched Todd grow up while working
for his parents. Now operating as one of the only genuine
Australian-made manufacturers of UGG boots in Australia,
with four retail locations around the country, UGGThese pages:
Every aspect of
an UGG Since
1974 product is
handcrafted and
each boot typically
passes through 16
pairs of hands before
completion for
happy customers.
AN AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY/UGG SINCE 1974 COLLABORATION