1 August 2026
Meet the founder bringing storytelling to workwear
Homing in on a neglected corner of the clothing market has proven a sharp move for Total Image founder and CEO Pamela Jabbour.
By NAB Business
While keen to tread a similar path to her father, garment manufacturing entrepreneur George Jabbour, 20-year-old Pamela Jabbour wasn’t sure she shared his appetite for the risk that’s part and parcel of the fickle fashion industry.
Fresh out of university in 2005, she spotted an opportunity to sell to repeat customers in volume: the traditionally unglamorous uniforms segment. Her vision was to disrupt ‘business as usual’ by designing and manufacturing high quality workwear that went beyond the functional and allowed businesses to tell their brand stories.
“Aside from the big banks and airlines, very few businesses were using uniforms to do that,” Pamela says. “And there were not a lot of choices – for women, it tended to be really bad pants in a shiny polyester and an overblouse.
“I saw an opportunity to bring fashion into that space and to apply what I had studied and loved – marketing and storytelling.”
Chasing sales in the early days
Confidence Pamela may not have possessed back then but determination she had in spades. She spent 12 months cold calling 100 businesses a day from the White Pages before eventually scoring her first order from Majestic Cinemas, for 100 purple polo shirts.
Other sales started trickling in, then, 12 months later, she took a call that changed it all – from the Big W procurement team, on the hunt for a new outfitter for the chain’s 30,000 staff.
Securing that deal was a milestone moment; one that meant the fledgling Total Image had to scale up fast.
In the intervening two decades, Pamela has grown it into a $16 million apparel business with offices in Australia and China, a staff of 52 and scores of customers in the healthcare, childcare, hospitality, retail and corporate sectors. Today, around 350,000 Australians go to work in threads designed and manufactured by Total Image.
Making sustainability a focus
Quality products keep buyers loyal. While recognising price plays a part in purchasing decisions, Pamela refuses to compete in cost cutting wars.
“Sustainability is something I’m committed to, in my personal and business life,” she says.
“From a Total Image perspective, that’s about supplying items that wash and wear well and don’t need to be replaced too often. We pride ourselves on delivering quality and longevity and we’re laser focused on working with customers whose values align with ours.”
Being recognised as a trusted supplier, one that cares about what people wear to work and how their uniforms make them feel, is her proudest achievement.
“I love seeing that shift in thinking, business leaders realising their uniforms are so much more than just logos on shirts; they’re a message to staff and customers about the brand,” Pamela says.
Using online experience to competitive advantage
Investing in digital infrastructure and marketing helped Total Image stand out online in the early days and has driven numerous deals its way since then.
A professional website and Google advertising were among Pamela’s earliest outlays, followed by investment in customised online ordering portals that give businesses a simpler, more streamlined way to manage uniforms across their teams.
“We make it super easy for workers to log in, look at what they can wear, based on their roles, and place orders,” she says.
“That online customer experience has been a real point of difference for Total Image and money well spent.”
What’s next?
Twenty-one years on, Pamela still loves what she does. But she’s never complacent. With Total Image firmly established as a leader in the uniform industry, she's focused on what comes next and how the business can continue to evolve.
“I see opportunities to grow our market share here in Australia,” she says.
Her priority is to build the business in a sustainable way while staying true to the principles that have shaped Total Images’s success over the past two decades.
“We’ll do it by focusing on customers in the mid-market that are aligned with our values and via the strategic acquisition of compatible businesses,” Pamela says.
Embracing the power of community
Carving out time to think strategically helps Pamela identify other opportunities to innovate and evolve.
So does mixing with fellow entrepreneurs and gaining their perspective on the many challenges being in business throws up.
A regular at Apropela and Family Business Australia events, she’s found a tribe of female founders who are sounding boards, supporters – and close friends.
“It felt really lonely starting a business as a young person so I began searching for community early on,” Pamela says. “Those connections and opportunities to learn have made such a difference to who I am and how I lead.”
Partnering with a bank that supports businesses at every stage
Partnering with NAB has helped Pamela transform Total Image from start-up into established enterprise.
Every large contract necessitates a major upfront investment in stock, and trade finance alleviates the cash flow challenges that can create. NAB also supported the purchase of Total Image’s Marrickville headquarters and its Collingwood sales office.
“Total Image has been a NAB customer from the outset and our bankers have a really good understanding of how we operate,” Pamela says. “Having that strong relationship has given me the confidence to pursue my growth dreams.”
NAB has a proud history of backing self-starters. It’s about understanding their vision and being a true partner.
NAB Business Banking Executive Lisa Brandis says Pamela’s disruption of a traditional market is an inspiration for other female entrepreneurs.
“Pamela’s done an extraordinary job of anticipating and creating demand for uniforms that add value to businesses and make their employees feel good about going to work,” Lisa says.
“NAB is proud to have played a part in her success story.”
