Eugene Notermans
EDDIE MORTON
What Eugene Notermans does not know about High Street, Armadale, could fit on the head of a pin. The owner of Hemden, an exclusive tailor making bespoke suits and shirts, Notermans is in his 39th year of business in High Street. His is one of the street’s longest-established businesses in the same ownership.
He is a former chairman of the Inner-City Business Association and a committee member of the High Street Armadale Business Association.
Notermans led his fellow traders in the fight against extended clearway hours in suburban shopping strips.
In 2008 the state Labor government proposed extending clearway hours in suburban shopping streets from 7am to 10am and from 3pm to 7pm. High Street was the first to undergo the change.
“From three o’clock in the afternoon you could have shot a gun down the street on the north side and not hit anyone,” Notermans said. “The impact was somewhere between a 15 to 18 per cent loss of business overall.
“People of all different political persuasions came together to fight it.”
The clearway battle led to a Supreme Court action that failed, but within two weeks of the Baillieu government being elected in 2010, extended clearway hours were dropped.
People laughed when he decided to set up Hemden in High Street in 1974, Notermans said.
“It was still quite industrial. There was a wholesale stationery business next door and a lot of the buildings just had brick fronts, but I thought it was an up-and-coming area,” he said.
Today Hemden, which employs 12 people including tailors, machinists and pattern makers, makes hand-tailored clothes for a long list of local, interstate and overseas clients.
Notermans is far too discreet and too savvy a businessman to reveal the names on that long list. But he will say they include “admirals” of industry and many “second-generation families” where fathers now bring their sons to buy clothes.
He started Hemden after working as an engineer at textile company Bradmill in the early 1970s.
“The writing was on the wall there because of globalisation and tariff reduction,” Notermans said.
“I thought there was a niche to make shirts that were of the highest standards and tailored to fit perfectly.”
Despite inroads from the internet, Notermans sees a bright future for High Street as long as it sticks to
its objectives:
- Extending the street’s appeal beyond locals.
- Offering high-quality products.
- Maintaining the commitment to exceptional service standards.
- Providing a follow-up service that is second to none.
Hemden \ Bespoke Tailors & Shirtmakers
1024-1026 High Street
By appointment 9509 0933
www.hemden.com.au