The tape measure around Warren Ludemann’s neck has been a familiar sight in Richmond’s Made For Men for more than 20 years, but retirement beckons and it is time for more fishing.
His career in retail stretches back nearly half a century and he has seen men become more adventurous with clothing over the years, especially colours, florals and eye-catching underwear.
“Men have got braver in what they wear,” he says. “Ten years ago men wouldn’t have worn florals and there used to be a massive difference between women and men’s spending on clothes. But it’s a lot closer now.”
Warren was employed as the shop’s manager in 1999 after it replaced a fruit and vegetable shop further down Queen St.
He bought the business in 2006 with his wife Jenny, and moved the business up the street just in time for the road closures caused by the Queen St renovation.
The road works followed the 2013 flooding and Made For Men’s previous shop had been one of the many flooded during the storm, so Warren knew the work needed to be done.
Foot traffic from Queen St dried up during the road works, but the new shop had a back entrance to Waring Carpark and Warren says that brought customers in and kept the business going for 18 months.
He says the road closure was worse than Covid-19 lockdowns for business.
“Queen St has changed a lot over the years with shops coming and going, but the biggest change was the street reinvention.
“The end result has been really good, but the 18 months of hell going through the road closure wasn’t good.”
His best memories during 20-plus years of retail have been his customers and seeing them on the street wearing clothes from the shop.
“What I’m going to miss the most is the different people you meet through the years and a lot of them are regulars. You have a lot of fun with some customers.
“I’m also going to miss selling what you purchase from sample ranges – and unpacking something and wondering what I bought that for!
He says he’s been lucky enough to have had excellent staff throughout his time at the store.
“They’ve been wonderful. If I wanted a holiday they said, ‘we’ll work the hours, you go’, you don’t often get staff like that.”
Warren began working in retail by necessity.
He had left school at the age of 15 to work as an apprentice in a shoe factory, cutting leather by hand for the shoes.
By the time he was 22, imported shoes from China were replacing the hand-made shoe business and he was made redundant.
“I took the first job I could get because we had one child by then and two weeks away from building our first house. It was selling shoes and that got me into retail.”
Over the years he has learnt that fashion tends to repeat itself and different colours suit different people.
A colour that doesn’t work on one person will “lift” another up.
“I’m sad to go, but I’m turning 70 so it is time to slow down and enjoy life while you have the opportunity to do it,” he says.
At the end of February, Warren will put the tape measure away and buy a mini fishing Kontiki before heading to the region’s beaches.
By Anne Hardie.
