Kirkcaldie & Stains
 | |
| Type | Public listed company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NZX: KRK |
| Industry | Retailing |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Headquarters | Wellington |
| Key people | Falcon Clouston (Chairman) |
| Products | apparel, cosmetics, homewares |
| Employees | 300 plus |
| Website | www.kirkcaldies.co.nz |
Kirkcaldie & Stains is a mid-sized department store in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1863 by John Kirkcaldie and Robert Stains with a capital of £700. The first store was opened on Lambton Quay. A new store was built in 1864. In 1868 Kirkcaldie & Staines moved to their current location at the corner of Lambton Quay and Brandon Street, expanding several times. They also had a branch in Napier from 1897 until 1917. There was also a branch on Cuba street for 7 years. French luxury skincare brand Sisley is exclusive to the store in New Zealand.[1]
Brief History
1863 - Business founded by Scotsman John Kirkcaldie, who had been apprenticed as a draper; and Englishman Robert Stains, who had a retail trade background. The men met in Sydney, Australia, and decided to pool their capital to establish a business in New Zealand. They settled on Wellington as the place, and their first store was the hulk of a wrecked ship, at Lambton Quay. Kirkcaldie & Stains opened for business in 'Waterloo House' on Wednesday 9th December 1863.
1864 - As the business grew a new two storey store was built in the same location.
1868 - Moved to new premises on land reclaimed from the harbour, corner of Lambton Quay and Brandon Streets. This site is part of the block of land still occupied by the business today.
1871 - 1876 - Branch store on the corner of Ghuznee and Cuba Streets, Wellington
1886 - Robert Stains returns to England and the partnership was dissolved. The business remained in the hands of the Kirkcaldie family until the 1930s.
1897 & 1908 - Extensions to the 1868 premises. 1908 extensions give the business the façade for which it is still famous today.
1897 - 1917 - Branch store in Napier, New Zealand. Since this branch was closed Kirkcaldie and Stains has been a single location business.
1931 - Business sold by the Kirkcaldie family to British Overseas Stores, an organisation with retail stores around the world.
1985 - Business bought by Renouf Corporation (later Hellaby Holdings). Significant redevelopment of premises, including construction of two 14 storey business towers at rear of block, completed 1989.
1994 - Hellaby Holdings sells business, stock bought primarily by people of Wellington, including staff and customers.
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek: "The company, through its subsidiary, Kirkcaldie & Stains Properties Limited, owns the Harbour City Centre consisting of two levels of retail shops with six floors of commercial office space and associated car parking in the district of Wellington." This represents the redevelopment of part of the real estate which was at one time occupied by the department store.
See also
- Smith & Caughey's
- Ballantynes
- Arthur Barnett
- H & J Smith
- Farmers