Friday, 20th February, 2015
MEDIA RELEASE PM TONY ABBOTT NUMBER ONE AGAIN AFTER STANNO FACTORY VISIT SYDNEY - Prime Minister Tony Abbott is ‘number one’ again after visiting the southern Sydney regional headquarters of Dutch teamwear brand Stanno earlier this week. Mr Abbott and Australian First Lady Margie Abbott and local federal MP(Barton) Nick Varvaris, toured the Carlton factory and office facilities of Corporate and Sportswear Pty Ltd, the exclusive licencee of Stanno throughout the region. Towards the end of the tour, the PM switched from observer to worker on the factory floor, operating the heat press used to apply transfer lettering and numbering onto sporting garments. Ten seconds of heat later, the name "ABBOTT" and the number "1" was applied to a Stanno-branded jersey in Australia’s green and gold sports colours. “This is one of the thousands and thousands of Australian small businesses that will do it easier under the Free Trade Agreements that we've negotiated,” Mr Abbott told reporters in a prearranged ‘door stop’. “Free Trade Agreements are good for exporters because it gives them more markets. It gives them a competitive advantage in those markets. Picture: Chris Lane (Fairfax Media)- Leader story here
“As you can see, there are businesses, there are sporting clubs, there are schools, all of which are having value added by this business but because the imports will be less expensive, the ultimate price to the consumer will be lower and the ability of this business to meet the demands of the community will be greater than it otherwise would be.” Mr Sivris said it was clear, during a quick briefing on his business, that the Prime Minister “gets it” an was then able to quickly and succinctly articulate the Stanno (Corporate and sportswear) business model. "The Prime Minister was refreshingly keen to know about all facets of the operation," Michael Sivris, Stanno Oceania CEO, said. "He genuinely wanted to know whether the Free Trade Agreement had positively affected business. “And he was impressed to hear that our transition from garment manufacturer to garment importer didn’t mean sacrificing staff, who were instead repurposed into key roles including quality control and customisation and embellishment.” Mr Sivris said the PM's visit had provided a valuable opportunity to think more broadly about issues affecting small businesses in the sports apparel sector, which admittedly, was a rare indulgence with the heavy demands on his time by the business.