Faces of the Day

Its clients have included the government, Air New Zealand and the All Blacks, while Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson and Tāme Iti are among its high-profile fans.

But one of New Zealand’s oldest manufacturing companies is “doing it so tough” that the chief executive had a stroke and now the family business is asking fellow Kiwis for help to stay afloat.

Hills Hats, an internationally renowned milliner since 1875, should be planning a big party for its 150th anniversary this year, but instead, the family business has launched a Pledge Me campaign in a desperate attempt they’re calling “the last roll of the dice”.

The fundraiser is also to raise awareness of the severe challenges facing Kiwi businesses, particularly in the capital.

The company is “clinging on when it seems like Wellington is in freefall”, chief executive Simon Smuts-Kennedy told Stuff.

Stuff