Wesfarmers

Wesfarmers Limited
Public
Traded as ASX: WES
Industry Conglomerate
Founded 1914
Headquarters 40 The Esplanade
Perth, Western Australia
Area served
 Australia
Bangladesh
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Key people
 Bob Every, Chairman
Richard Goyder, CEO
Revenue Increase A$58.90 billion (2012)
Increase A$3.55 billion (2012)
Profit Increase A$2.13 billion (2012)
Total assets A$42.31 billion (2012)
Total equity A$25.63 billion (2012)
Number of 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, Curragh Queensland Mining, Wesfarmers Premier Coal, Bengalla Mining Company*, Wesfarmers Insurance, Crombie Lockwood (NZ), Koukia*, Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, Bakers, Total Fasteners, Bullivants, Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety NZ, CSBP, PB Workwear, Australian Gold Reagents*, Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas, Unigas*, Wesfarmers Kleenheat Elpiji, Wesfarmers LPG, Coregas, Air Liquide WA*, Gresham Partners Group*, Wespine Industries*
* Joint ventures
Website www.wesfarmers.com.au
Footnotes / references
[1]

Wesfarmers Limited 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 more than 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.

History

The company was founded on 27 June 1914 as the Westralian Farmers Co-operative, which focused on the provision of services and merchandise to the Western Australian rural community.[5]

It was involved in the operations of the Cooperative Wheat Pool of Western Australia.

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.

The company changed its name to Wesfarmers Limited in 1984, coinciding with its restructuring from a co-operative to a public company when it was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Divisions

Since becoming a public company, Wesfarmers has diversified its interests by acquiring other companies.

Coles

Coles is a national supermarket, liquor, fuel and convenience retailer in Australia. As of September 2013, Coles operates 756 full-service supermarkets, 810 liquor outlets, 92 hotels, and 636 fuel and convenience stores. Coles employs more than 105,000 staff.[6] Coles' businesses include Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Coles Express, Vintage Cellars, 1st Choice Liquor Superstore, BI-LO and Liquorland.

Home Improvement and Office Supplies

This division is made up of Bunnings Warehouse, a retailer of home improvement and outdoor living products, servicing home and commercial customers in Australia and New Zealand, and Officeworks, a retailer and supplier of office products for home, business and education in Australia. There are 210 Bunnings "warehouse" (larger) stores, 67 Bunnings small format stores, 36 Bunnings Trade centres and 150 Officeworks stores. Bunnings employs more than 33,000 staff and Officeworks employs more than 6,000 staff.[6]

Kmart

Kmart is a discount department store retailer in Australia and New Zealand, and a provider of retail automotive services, repairs and tyres in Australia. Kmart has 190 Kmart stores and 263 Kmart Tyre & Auto Service centres. Kmart employs more than 31,000 staff.[6]

Target

Target is a department store retailer in Australia. Target has 183 Target stores and 125 Target Country stores. Target employs more than 24,000 staff.[6]

Insurance

Wesfarmers Insurance provides insurance in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The company operates a general insurance underwriting businesses in the rural, small and medium enterprise (SME), and commercial sectors—primarily under the "WFI" trading name—and also serves personal customers through "Coles Insurance". It also primarily uses the "OAMPS" trading name for brokering operations in the SME and commercial sectors. As of October 2013, Wesfarmers Insurance manages 89 WFI offices, 26 Lumley offices, 32 OAMPS offices and 23 Crombie Lockwood offices, in addition to over 3,600 staff members.[7]

Resources

The Resources division owns and operates world-scale open-cut coal producing resources in Australia. Wesfarmers Resources has Curragh in Queensland which produces metallurgical coal for export and steaming coal for domestic power generation and 40% of Bengalla in New South Wales, which is operated by Coal & Allied and produces export steaming coal for Asia. Wesfarmers Resources employs more than 650 staff.[6]

Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers

Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers (WesCEF) produces and markets chemicals, fertilisers and gas products. WesCEF has ammonia and ammonium nitrate production facilities in Western Australia, 50% of QNP ammonium nitrate production facilities in Queensland, sodium cyanide production facilities in Western Australia, PVC resin and specialty chemicals production facilities in Victoria, LPG and LNG distribution across Australia with LPG and LNG production facilities in Western Australia and fertiliser production and importation facilities in Western Australia. WesCEF employs more than 1,500 staff.[6] WesCEF businesses include CSBP, Australian Vinyls, AGR, QNP, Evol LNG, Air Liquide, Kleenheat Gas and Modwood.

Industrial and Safety

Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety provides industrial and safety products and services in Australia and New Zealand. Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety has 222 branches and 145 additional gas distribution points, and employs more than 3,500 staff.[6] Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety businesses include Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, NZ Safety, Bullivants, Coregas, Blackwoods Protector, Safety Source, Total Fasteners, Packaging House and GotStock.

Other activities

Wesfarmers has a 50% interest in investment house Gresham Partners plus interests in Gresham Private Equity Funds, 50% interest in Wespine, a plantation softwood sawmill at Dardanup, Western Australia and a 24% interest in BWP Trust which mainly owns Bunnings Warehouses tenanted by Bunnings Group Limited.[8]

Other businesses

Wesfarmers has 100% interest in many other subsidiaries across Australia, New Zealand, India, New Caledonia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Bermuda and Singapore. These include BBC Hardware, Coles Ansett Travel, Coles Group Superannuation Fund, Coles Property Management, Comnet, Fosseys, GJ Coles & Coy, Grocery Holdings Pty Ltd, Harris Technology, Howard Smith, Katies Fashions, Loyalty Pacific, Masters Home Improvement New Zealand, Morley Shopping Centre, now.com.au, Theo's Liquor, Tooronga Shopping Centre, Tyremaster, Viking Direct and World 4 Kids.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "2012 Full Year Results" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Carson, Vanda (22 October 2008). "Check out Woolies' lead on Coles". Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ↑ "Wesfarmers - Company history"
  4. ↑ Peter Ryan (2 July 2007). "Coles board recommends $22b takeover offer". ABC News online. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  5. ↑ See Western Australian Farmers Federation for the relationship between the Co-operative and the CBH Group in its early history
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 "Wesfarmers Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Wesfarmers Annual Report 2013" (PDF). September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  8. ↑

Further reading

External links