| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retailing |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Founder(s) | Robert Laidlaw |
| Headquarters | Flat Bush, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Number of locations | 58 |
| Area served | New Zealand |
| Products | Department Store |
| Owner(s) | Anne Norman and Family |
| Parent | James Pascoe Ltd |
| Website | www.farmers.co.nz |
The Farmers Trading Company (branded as Farmers) is a New Zealand mid-market department store chain. Based in Flat Bush in Auckland,[1] Farmers operates 56 stores across New Zealand, specialising in fashion, beauty, home-wares and furniture.
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The company was founded by Robert Laidlaw in 1909 as 'Laidlaw Leeds' and sold agricultural related goods through mail order catalogues, following a successful American model. In 1918 Laidlaw Leeds merged with The Farmers Union Trading Company, when then was renamed as The Farmers Trading Company. The company expanded into retail and adopted the department store model. For many years the multi-story Farmers Building in downtown Auckland was the largest store in the country, and had free buses that took shoppers to the store from other parts of the city. After closing in the early 1990s, the large downtown store is now an upscale hotel. Currently, most Farmers stores are attached to shopping malls, with their larger stores in the suburbs.
The company grew from one store during the 1910s to 56 by 1990 through opportunism and take-overs. Farmers and the DEKA discount merchandise chain were joined as Farmers Deka Ltd from 1992. The DEKA chain closed in July 2001 after financial difficulty in competing with The Warehouse discount department stores. Farmers Deka Ltd was then renamed Farmers Holdings Ltd.[2]
Farmers has traditionally been a middle market retailer, on par with Sears or JC Penney in the United States. With the recent development of The Warehouse (a Wal-mart type store), Farmers made a decision to become a far more fashionable shopping destination, ranging an increasing amount of branded product. Where Farmers once would have faced competition from The Warehouse (nationwide) and various small chain stores, they've established themselves well apart from this discount retailer. Farmers still face competition from the remaining department stores like Arthur Barnett, H & J Smith's, Ballantyne's, Smith & Caughey's, & Kirkcaldie & Stains, none of which are nationwide.
Farmers plans to use Helvetica as the font of their upcoming logo.
Farmers Holdings Ltd is privately owned by James Pascoe Ltd, which in turn is owned by Anne Norman and family. James Pascoe Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Finance bought Farmers on 6 November 2003 from Foodlands Associates for NZ$311m. The business was split into the retail and finance arms with James Pascoe holding the retail arm and Fisher & Paykel Finance the finance arm which includes the Farmers card.
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