Who owns farmers trading company

The company was so trusted that people would send in blank cheques with a list of what they wanted to buy and the staff would fill in the final amount. In , a satisfied customer wrote to Farmers Trading Company: "Since I purchased the flamethrower some months ago, I have evolved a very efficient way of handling blackberry.

Another women sent clippings of her wallpaper so staff could ensure the curtains they sent her matched the colours on her walls. According to business historian Ian Hunter , when that same woman later wanted a lawn mower, she sent in some of he lawn clippings to ensure they got the right cutter. Laidlaw told customers they would have satisfaction or their money back, a new concept in the New Zealand retail at the time.

By , one in every 10 people had an account with the company. But it has not been all smooth sailing. Farmers almost didn't survive the sharemarket crash of In the period that followed, Farmers was controlled, first by a consortium of Australian banks and later Deka, the Maori Development Corporation and Foodland Associated.

In , Farmers was bought by its current owners, retailers Anne and David Norman, through their investment company James Pascoes Group. More recently, the company has faced a series of wage disputes with staff seeking higher wages and better working conditions.

Collins, who was previously managing director of clothing and general merchandise at luxury Australian department store David Jones, has been with Farmers for eight months. Farmers had evolved over time and kept up with changing customer demands, "without pushing the boundaries too far", he said.

As a result New Zealanders continued to find the store accessible, even homely, he said. For example, about 70 of the nearly staff in the new store worked at the old Newmarket store, Collins said. Those people were redeployed to other stores in Auckland while the new store was being built.

Customers walked in on opening day to find familiar faces, he said. First Retail managing director Chris Wilkinson said Farmers had a refined business model.

The company owns a number of jewellery chains in New Zealand and Australia including Pascoes the Jewellery, Whitcoulls book and stationery stores and kitchenware Stevens. Domestic and global competition had forced a strategic rethink for Farmers though the ethos has remained the same.

If you don't have a lot of money, you are going to The Warehouse or Kmart. If you are a family with young kids, its easier to shop there. They have a good loyalty programme. The beauty card is good. Farmers would probably feel the arrival of David Jones when it opened in the Newmarket mall as well, she said.

Farmers chairman Denham Shale said the new advertising campaign, being created by Colenso. It replaces the current tagline: "Full of surprises".

The media-shy couple own family business Pascoes, established in Auckland early last century, and Stewart Dawsons. They purchased Australian chain Prouds from administrators in and returned it to profit within three years. Shale said sales in Farmers stores were up 3 per cent for the six months to April compared to the same period the previous year.

There have been teething problems; former chief executive Nick Lowe walked away last month with a settlement after he resigned and sued Farmers for breach of contract. He will not be replaced, with David Norman becoming group managing director and working with an executive team of three, including long-time Farmers employee Rod McDermott.