| Type | Public (ASX: WES) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retailing, Industrial, Insurance, Energy |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Headquarters | Perth, Western Australia |
| Area served | Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Bangladesh |
| Key people | Bob Every, Chairman Richard Goyder, CEO |
| Revenue | A$54.87 billion (2011) |
| Operating income | A$3.23 billion (2011) |
| Profit | A$1.92 billion (2011) |
| Total assets | A$40.81 billion (2011) |
| Employees | 220,000 |
| Subsidiaries | Bunnings Warehouse, Coles Supermarkets, Bi-Lo, Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket, Coles Express, Coles Central, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars, 1st Choice Liquor Superstore, Officeworks, Officeworks BusinessDirect, Harris Technology, Kmart, Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, Target, Pharmacy Direct, HouseWorks, Curragh Queensland Mining, Wesfarmers Premier Coal, Bengalla Mining Company*, WFI, Lumley Insurance, Lumley Special Vehicles, Lumley General Insurance (NZ), OAMPS Insurance Brokers, Crombie Lockwood (NZ), Lumley Finance, Monument Premium Funding, Koukia*, Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, Bakers, Total Fasteners, Bullivants, Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety NZ, CSBP, Australian Gold Reagents*, Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas, Unigas*, Wesfarmers Kleenheat Elpiji, Wesfarmers LPG, Coregas, Air Liquide WA*, Energy Generation, Gresham Partners Group*, Wespine Industries* * Joint ventures |
| Website | www.wesfarmers.com.au |
| References: [1] | |
Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES) is one of Australia’s largest public companies and one of Australia's largest retailers.[2] Its headquarters are in Perth, Western Australia.
Wesfarmers is the largest private employer in Australia, with almost 200,000 employees across the country.[3] Official records announced a record net profit of $1.05 billion for 2006 with operating costs of $8.9 billion (prior to the Coles Group takeover).
On 2 July 2007, Wesfarmers announced it was purchasing the Coles Group retail business for A$22 billion making it the largest successful take-over in Australian corporate history.[4] Wesfarmers officially took control of Coles on 23 November 2007, after paying almost A$20 billion for the company.
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The company was founded on 27 June 1914 as a farmers' co-operative which focused on the provision of services and merchandise to the Western Australian rural community.
In 1924 it established the first public radio station in Western Australia with 6WF before it passed into the hands of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1929.
By the 1940s the company's work included "being wheat and general merchants; country distribution for Commonwealth Oil Refineries Ltd; wool, live stock, skin and produce auctioneers; grain & fruit exporters; insurance underwriters; acquiring agents for the wheat pool of W.A." Known as Westralian Farmers Limited, it had premises in various locations within the Perth central business district. In the 1940s there were premises at 563-571 Wellington Street. They also had premises at Newman Street in Fremantle.
In 1991, 19 m³ of the records of the Westralian Farmers Co-operative were deposited with the J S Battye Library in Perth.
A name change in 1985 to Wesfarmers Limited coincided with its restructuring from a co-operative to a public company when it was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Since becoming a public company, Wesfarmers has moved to dramatically diversify through an aggressive acquisition strategy.
Wesfarmers owns Bunnings Warehouse - Australia's largest hardware chain. The chain was expanded considerably with the 2001 takeover of the BBC Hardware group. After taking over Coles Group in 2007, Officeworks, Officeworks BusinessDirect and Harris Technology were added to the Home Improvement Division.
Wesfarmers Energy owns the Curragh coal mine in Queensland, the Premier Coal operations in Western Australia and a minority interest in the Bengalla coal operation in New South Wales.
Gas and energy interests include Kleenheat Gas, Wesfarmers LPG, which owns and operates a liquefied petroleum gas extraction plant facility in Kwinana, Western Australia, Coregas, EnGen (Energy Generation) and a minority interest in Air Liquide WA (ALWA).
Wesfarmers LPG facility started full production in 2008 with a capacity of 500 TJ/day of Natural Gas producing a capacity capability of 350,000 tonnes/annum of LPG.[5]
Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety Division incorporates Blackwoods, Bullivants, Total Fasteners, Protector Alsafe, NZ Safety, Packaging House (NZ), Protector Alsafe NZ, and Blackwoods Paykels (NZ).
The division comprises product categories including tools, hardware, safety, apparel, welding and abrasives, mechanical services, packaging and power transmission, safety, handling, lifting and rigging, material handling, lifting and rigging, fasteners, hoses and conveyors.
Most of the Australian and New Zealand specialty businesses hold a leading market position in their respective category.
The division operates from a network of 241 branches supported by large distribution centres, hundreds of external and internal sales resources as well as e-business, websites and telemarketing channels.
Wesfarmers Insurance incorporates WFI, Lumley Insurance Australia, Lumley Special Vehicles and Lumley New Zealand, as well as three broking companies, OAMPS Insurance Brokers Ltd, OAMPS UK and Crombie Lockwood. It also operates two premium funding brands, Lumley Finance and Monument Premium Funding, and has majority ownership of insurance software developer, Koukia.
WFI began as the insurance department of Westralian Farmers Co-operative in 1919, and in 1982 became its own company, wholly owned by Wesfarmers Limited. In 1991 it acquired Federation Insurance and became known as Wesfarmers Federation Insurance. It is predominantly a rural insurer, although since 1990 it has gained a commercial client base and also has a smaller domestic insurance business. WFI is one of few insurers offering Workers Compensation insurance in Western Australia. WFI has over 80 branches and in 2008 changed its positioning statement from We're never far away to Good people to know.
Your Insurance Group, a budget insurer, was acquired in 2007.
The Coles Division operates 2,231 food, liquor and convenience outlets through the majority of the former Coles Group brand assets. These include Coles, Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets and BI-LO Supermarkets, Liquorland, Liquorland Express, Vintage Cellars, Coles Express and 1st Choice Liquor Superstores.
Wesfarmers operates Target, Kmart, and other former Coles Group entities.
Owns a 50% interest in Gresham Partners, a corporate finance business focused on mergers and acquisitions.
Owns a 50% interest in Wespine Industries [6], a softwood sawmill operation at Dardanup, Western Australia.
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