EST. 1926  ·  Celebrating 100 Years

A Century in the Making.

For 100 years, SIM Branding has done one thing above all others: looked after its customers. Three generations have grown this business from a single travelling salesman into a name trusted right across Australia and New Zealand, and that promise has never changed. This is the story of how we got here.

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1926
Founded
100
Years of trading
3
Generations
Tasmanian
Owned and run
How It Started

It Began With a Missing Salesman.

Our story starts with Simon Crawcour, born in Melbourne in 1893. He came to Tasmania at just 17, sent over from the mainland to track down a salesman who had gone missing on the road. Simon found the samples, finished the round himself, and returned with plenty of new orders. That was all it took. J&B Snider handed him the territory, and he became their Tasmanian travelling salesman.

By the 1920s, Launceston was home. Simon had become a well known and respected figure in local business and community life, later recognised with an OBE (Order of the British Empire). In 1926 he established his own business at 145a Charles Street, and Sim Crawcour Pty Ltd was born. He married Doris in 1928, and together they raised two daughters, Beth and Lynette.

A horse-drawn wagon loaded with travelling salesmen’s sample cases outside a weatherboard building, with several men gathered around it.
Our Journey

One Hundred Years, One Set of Values.

  • Simon Crawcour founded Sim Crawcour Pty Ltd in Launceston, trading from 145a Charles Street.

  • John and Beth Sandor (nee Crawcour) buy into the business and move it to York Street, into a building owned by John. He grows the wholesale side as Tasmanian agent for the likes of Citizen Watches, Krosno Crystal and Buckle Belts, and builds supply relationships in China, importing souvenirs and giftware for the local market.

  • Peter Sandor joins at just 14, spending school holidays in the warehouse as a storeman and packer. By 1981 he is on the road, selling souvenirs and gifts to tourist outlets across the state, and soon flying to China with his father John to meet suppliers, walk the gift fairs and see the factories firsthand.

  • By now the business is humming: three storemen, four salesmen, two office staff, and the casuals who come in to count the shop stock and place the reorders.

  • On a holiday to Fiji with his wife Lisa, Peter spots a souvenir tee labelled “Party Gecko”. Back home, he has the company artist swap the gecko for a Tasmanian devil, and the “Party Devil” is born. It becomes one of the biggest selling tees in the company’s history for years to come.

  • Peter and Lisa move into retail, starting with a souvenir store in Devonport, then Centreway Souvenirs in Launceston and Sullivans Cove Souvenirs in Hobart. Naturally Tasmania stores follow in Launceston, Hobart, Salamanca and aboard the Spirit of Tasmania ships, while the wholesale side keeps expanding into Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and New Zealand.

  • After more than two decades in retail, the last store closes and the business returns to what it does best: wholesale and custom branding. John retires the same year, after a lifetime in the trade.

  • The company passes to established Tasmanian business partners, keeping it locally owned and locally run, with many long serving team members staying on.

  • A century after Simon finished that first round, SIM Branding is still here. Still Tasmanian. Still building on the relationships that started it all.

Three generations. One promise: you are looked after, from the first quote to the final delivery.

Where We Are Now

Still Here. Still Local. Still Customising.

100 years on, plenty has changed. The way we work hasn’t. We still customise every order in-house, we still take on jobs of any size, from a single item to a full uniform rollout, and we still treat our customers like part of the family. Proudly Tasmanian, delivering right across Australia and New Zealand.

The people who make SIM Branding what it is have been here for years, and they’re the reason customers keep coming back. Here’s to the next 100.