Whitcoulls

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Whitcoulls is a major national bookstore chain in New Zealand, formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs. It has 62 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies merged in 1971 to form Whitcoulls.

[edit] History

It began in 1882 in Cashel Street, Christchurch, as a partnership between a teacher of French who had become a bookseller, George Hawkes Whitcombe, and printer George Tombs.

In 1883 the company was among the first registered under the Companies Act 1882. It had market dominance for several decades. Thousands of schoolchildren were taught with the aid of Whitcombe's Progressive Primers and later enjoyed Whitcombe's Story Books such as The Adventures of Hoppity Bobtail.

The company, in common with most companies, did not have a completely trouble-free relationship with employees. A court judgment Whitcombe & Tombs Limited v Taylor (1907) 27 NZLR 237 stated the principle that "a well established custom or practice may become part of a contract" (as noted by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand in CA246/03, nearly a century later, despite half a dozen intervening changes of employment law).

In 1971 the group as a whole was merged with Dunedin-based firm Coulls Somerville Wilkie to become Whitcoulls, and has since been sold several times. It now operates as a retail chain only.

The limited company itself described here has changed its name to reflect the changes in ownership. It became the holding company Printing and Packaging Corporation Limited at the time of the merger. It became Whitcoulls Group Limited in 1982, WGL Group Limited in 1993 and has been known as WGL Retail Holdings Limited since 1995. It is still on the companies register as company number 120265. Its current ultimate parent that can be traced appears to be Whitcoulls Finance in Australia, ACN 109 241 394.

After a period under the ownership of UK company W. H. Smith, Whitcoulls is presently owned by Pacific Equity Partners, a subsidiary of UK-based insurance company Prudential, which acquired the chain in 2004.