Everybody’s got a story... about FJs
It seems everybody in Warrnambool’s got a story about Fletcher Jones.
The FJ Stories project set up a FJ Living Museum marquee at the FJ Christmas Market and Garden Party on December 8th, 2019 from 11am to 4pm with FJ memorabilia on display and with an invitation for people to come along and share stories of what made Fletcher Jones, the man and business special. We encouraged people to wear their FJ gear or to bring along a photo or other memorabilia to share.
‘Quality above all’ was the FJ motto. How amazing in this day and age to think that not only were FJ clothes made of the finest materials and to the highest standards, they would also be repaired for a lifetime! And the company would also buy back clothes to recycle the fabric or trimmings in the repair unit.
Viv Hodgson shared a story “My Dad used to keep the repairs business in business! He smoked a pipe & used to put it into his pocket before he saw a patient....It was a part of life visiting the shop (often more than once a week) to pick up repaired suits!”
FJ Christmas picnics held each year for staff and families are legendary and many people had very fond memories and stories to tell about the gifts they received as kids or about the rides on the horse and cart.
Fletcher Jones, the man and the company treated people with kindness and always put the people before profits. Staff were the majority shareholders by the 1970s and had a say at all levels of the business from the shop floor through to the board. Bonuses ensured people who worked hard were well rewarded and there were many staff benefits. Giving to others less fortunate was also encouraged and the staff and company supported many charitable causes.
It’s timely to think about FJs and the values by which he ran his business as people are becoming more conscious of the unsustainable nature of cheap clothing that is produced by exploiting people and we are all more and more frustrated by built in obsolescence in all parts of our lives and how it gets more and more difficult to repair things. FJ would have been horrified!
Lots of stories were shared in the Living Museum marquee and some now appear elswhere on this website. We had hundreds of people come along to the three sessions during the day. Thank you to the Jones Family Foundations for their ongoing support.
