Briscoe Group

This article is about the retail chain. For the professional wrestling tag team, see Briscoe Brothers

Briscoe Group is a New Zealand retail chain. It has 90 stores throughout New Zealand trading under the Briscoes Homeware, Living & Giving, Urban Loft & Rebel Sport nameplates.

History

• 1781: Original Briscoes business established in Wolverhampton, England and steadily expanded into the British Colonies including Australia & New Zealand.
• 1862: First Briscoes warehouse and store established on the corner of Princes and Jetty streets in Dunedin, New Zealand.
• 1973: Australian and New Zealand operations of Briscoes purchased by Merbank Corporation of Australia.
• 1977: Hagemeyer of The Netherlands purchases Briscoes New Zealand.
• 1988: Hagemeyer recruits Rodney Adrian Duke as Managing Director of Briscoes. His mandate was to prepare the business for sale.
• 1990: Briscoes bought by the RA Duke Trust, a trust established by Rodney Adrian Duke.
• 1991: Briscoes hires Brian Berry to oversee the expansion and renovation of the Briscoes retail stores.
• 1995: Briscoes negotiates a limited franchise agreement with Rebel Sport Australia, giving Briscoes exclusive rights to the Rebel Sport brand in New Zealand.
• 1996: Under the direction and guidance of Brian Berry, the first Rebel Sport store opens in Panmure, Auckland.
• 1997: First Rebel Sport store outside of Auckland opens.
• 1999: Agreement with Rebel Sport Australia for the franchise to be terminated with effect from April 2005, after which Briscoe will continue to have exclusive rights to the name in New Zealand.
• 2001: Retailing interests total 28 Briscoes stores and 11 Rebel Sport stores. Briscoe Group goes public and lists on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX).
• 2003: Retailing interests total 30 Briscoes stores and 17 Rebel Sport stores.
• 2004: Retailing interests total 33 Briscoes stores and 19 Rebel Sport stores.
• 2006: Retailing interests total 48 Briscoes stores, 27 Rebel Sport stores, and 9 Living and Giving stores.
• 2008: Retailing interests total 57 Briscoes stores, 32 Rebel Sport stores, and 9 Living and Giving stores.

Nameplates

Briscoes Homeware

Briscoes Homeware is a retail store selling a variety of homeware at sometimes heavily discounted prices. It is comparable in size to a medium size discount department store. Many brands are exclusively imported by Briscoes, allowing for such low prices. Briscoes Homeware is the flagship brand of the Group and generates most of the company's revenue. Currently there are 41 stores trading throughout New Zealand. The brand's slogan is "You'll never buy better", referring to Briscoes Homeware's 'Price Promise' that states the store will match and beat by 10% any price found on a stocked item at another retailer.

Rebel Sport

Rebel Sport is the largest sport equipment and apparel chain in New Zealand, with 32 stores currently trading. It was born out of a franchise agreement between Briscoe Group and Rebel Sport Australia in 1995. After successfully overseeing the expansion of the Briscoes homeware stores from 12 to 22, Company Director - Brian Berry was given the task of overseeing the design and establishment of the Rebel Sport chain of stores in New Zealand. Briscoe has exclusive rights to the Rebel Sport name in New Zealand. Like its sister nameplate Briscoes, Rebel Sport is comparable in size to a medium size discount department store. The chain does have a lowest price guarantee, although its unique duopoly position in the market allows it to stock a relatively high-end range while providing wider appeal through a calendar crammed with discount sale promotions.

Up until 2006, Rebel had no big-box sports competitor, prompting the use of the well-known slogan "No one's got more sports gear". However, Lane Walker Rudkin, owners of sports franchise Stirling Sports, have announced plans to launch several large format stores across the country, beginning with a store in Christchurch, which opened in mid 2006. This followed the collapse of a deal between Briscoe Group and LWR a year earlier, which would have seen Briscoe buyout the Stirling franchise. Since Stirling's big box launch, Rebel has dropped their original slogan, which has been replaced with "Let's Play", backed by a new marketing campaign which targets a wider audience from the traditional club-orientated team sport audience. The company is also continuing their aggressive expansion programme, launching several smaller-format stores such as Napier and Taupo to allow branches to reach further into provincial areas.

Briscoe Group has previously owned the naming rights to the New Zealand segment of the Super 14 rugby union competition, which was branded the Rebel Sport Super 14.

External links

• Briscoe Group
• Briscoes Homeware
• Rebel Sport
• Urban Loft
• Living & Giving