Nothing costs more than oblivion. Fletcher Jones said in his autobiography, Not By Myself.
FJ had a genius and love for marketing - from his early days as a hawker and salesman, he always had an eye for unusual or interesting ways to attract his customers. He loved a good saying - there are pages and pages of his aphorisms setting forth some wisdom or truth according to his life's philosophy. Fletcher Jones, the business had many great advertising slogans. No Man is Hard to Fit was one of the most famous.
Jones had the flair of the showman, an astute business mind and a gregarious and affable personality.
"In 1924 he purchased on credit a menswear and tailoring business at Warrnambool. The poorly chosen site, the town's social conservatism and his rivals' suspicion saw his dignity bruised when he was forced to come to an arrangement with his creditors. Jones was a dedicated reader of American periodicals on modern merchandising techniques. His responses to his precarious business position—daily 'specials', spot sales and competitions—were simple and inexpensive, but attracted the desired attention and custom. Jones's exuberant showmanship spilled over into community activities. He organized Warrnambool's winning entry in the Sun News-Pictorial's 1927 Ideal Town contest, collected and distributed Toc H support for the unemployed during the Depression and ran the highly popular community singing. Above all, he proved astute in business, managing his credit on a knife-edge, buying goods in small quantities and initiating group-buying by tender. He also recruited ambitious salesmen, and skilled tailors discharged by other firms. By 1939 his tailors' room was one of the largest in provincial Victoria and he had repaid his Melbourne creditors in full.......
John Lack Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, (MUP), 1996
"FJ was a wonderful retailer, - the driving force behind Fletcher Jones, the manufacturer. The retail drive by FJ was just so ahead of the times. He was a retailer first and foremost. Phillip Adams the advertising guru, of Monahan Dayman and Adams, was part of the team behind the well known 'Life Be In It' campaign. He had many a meeting with FJs. I have so many great memories, particularly of time spent with FJ. When he appointed me as a Store Manager, his words were" be a good listener and you will get the staff you deserve."
Geoffrey Moon (Geoffrey worked with Fletchers from 1960-1987. He started as a Junior at Chadstone Store in 1960 and went on to become FJs National Merchandise Manager).
