Hills Hoist owner hits back at ‘misleading’ administration claims

The company behind Australia’s iconic Hills Hoist has hit back at claims the brand is in trouble after its owner was placed in administration.

It came after multiple reports in Australian media over the weekend and on Monday that Hills Ltd had gone into administration.

According to the reports, Hills was placed into administration last Friday after losing a court case that left it required to pay $5.48 million. The case between Hills Ltd and Stellar Vision Operators was thrown out in 2022, but Stellar won an appeal and Hills had been given a deadline of mid-May to pay up, which it failed to meet.

In a twist on Monday, however, AMES Australia, which supplies Hills Home Living products – including the Australian backyard classic Hills Hoist – said the reports were misleading.

“Recent coverage regarding the sad news of Hills Ltd going into administration has incorrectly linked Hills Ltd to the Hills Hoist brand,” the company said in a statement.

“AMES Australasia wishes to clarify that Hills Ltd is a separate business from Hills Home Living and as a result, the Hills Hoist brand has no affiliation with Hills Ltd. ”

It said associating Hills Hoists with Hills Ltd was “incorrect and misleading”.

AMES Australasia said it acquired Hills Home Living from Hills Limited in 2017 and Hills Ltd was now a technology business with no affiliation to the famous clotheslines or Hills Home Living.

In fact, the company said, its home living branch had grown “significantly”, with Hills’ clotheslines and laundry products still popular with Aussie shoppers.

“I would like to personally assure everyone that the supply of Hills clotheslines and laundry products, consumer warranties, customer service and all our employees are completely unaffected by the unfortunate happenings to this other organisation. We are proud to advise that there are more Hills clotheslines being sold today than at any other time in the brand’s iconic history,” AMES Australasia chief executive Simon Hupfeld said.

“The organisation mentioned in the article, Hills Ltd, transformed into a technology company many years ago and is no longer connected to the Hills clothesline business.”

Mr Hupfeld said using Hills Hoist pictures with the news reports was misleading as it “incorrectly suggests a potential impact on our Hills clotheslines business, which is not the case”.

“We would like to reassure our customers that the supply of Hills clotheslines and laundry products, consumer warranties, customer service, and all related aspects remain entirely unaffected by the current situation involving Hills Ltd,” he said.

“Our commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality products and exceptional service remains unwavering.”