Farmers Trading Company

Farmers Trading Company Ltd (branded as Farmers) is a New Zealand mid-market department store chain. Headquartered in Flat Bush, Auckland, Farmers operates 59 stores across New Zealand, specialising in family fashion, beauty, homewares, furniture, large appliances and whiteware.

Early years


Robert Laidlaw founded Laidlaw Leeds in 1909, which sold agricultural supplies through mail order catalogues, following a successful American model. In 1910, a group of Auckland members of the Farmers Union formed the Farmers Union Indenting and Trading Association. The Clevedon branch, for instance, approved the formation of such an association at a meeting held in July 1910. In 1916, the trading association was converted into the Farmers' Union Trading Co (Auckland) Ltd.

In 1917, the Farmers' Union Trading Company approached Laidlaw Leeds with an offer to merge, which Laidlaw accepted; he became the managing director of the new venture, the Farmers' Trading Company. The company soon expanded into retail and adopted the department store model. There had also been an unrelated, older Farmers Department Store in Sydney, Australia.

From mail order to stores
The centre of operations was a high-rise warehouse and office complex in Auckland's Hobson Street. In 1920 a retail space was opened to the public in the building. The co-op also bought many local stores in the Auckland province in 1920, by which time it had 32 stores, and offered preference shares to urban members.

In the 1930s a large wing was built onto the older 1914 building which included the Harbour View Tea Rooms. The architect involved, R. A. Lippencott, also gave the enlarged building a new facade in the new modern Art-Deco style. Hobson Street was not a very good position for a department store, so copying similar arrangements by stores in American cities, Laidlaw arranged for a free bus to shuttle people from Queen Street to the Hobson Street store. This was later augmented by a free tram to Karangahape Road.



Over successive years the adjacent sites were covered with warehouses and administration blocks for the growing business. Laidlaw, a teetotaler, made a point of buying the pub directly next door, The Grosvenor, and turning it into offices.

As well as the store's rooftop playground and tearooms, Farmers was also noted for its high-rise parking building connected to the shop by an elevated skyway. Like many buildings from the 1920s onwards, it had electric lifts which multiplied in number as the building grew in size. The store also boasted the first escalators in Auckland which were opened in 1955 by the Mayor of Auckland City, Mr. J H Luxford and his wife. The Mayor cut the ribbon and the official party travelled up the escalators followed by a crowd of curious Aucklanders, along with the store's mascot Hector the parrot. The eight banks of escalators were the largest installation in the Southern Hemisphere.

South Island expansion
Farmers acquired Calder Mackay department stores a chain of department stores based in Christchurch but with locations all around the South Island in 1970 and became the largest chain of department stores in New Zealand.

In 1982 Bunting & Co. bought the South Island Farmers-Haywrights chain and Farmers purchased 13 stores from the chain for $12 Million, with this the store count was brought to 80.

Changes of ownership
In 1986, Farmers was taken over by New Zealand property development company Chase Corporation. Following Chase's collapse, Farmers was sold to the New Zealand discount chain DEKA in 1992, owned by the Maori Development Corporation and Australian supermarket chain Foodland. The company became Farmers Deka Ltd.

The company grew from one store during the 1910s to 56 by 1990. The DEKA chain closed in July 2001 after financial difficulty in competing with The Warehouse discount stores. Farmers Deka Ltd was then renamed Farmers Holdings Ltd.

After the Auckland flagship store closed in 1991, it stood empty for several years before it was converted into an upscale hotel which opened in 1998. Currently, most Farmers stores are anchor stores in shopping malls, with some larger stores in the suburbs.



In 2003 Farmers was purchased by James Pascoe Ltd, bringing it back to New Zealand ownership.

Other issues
Farmers closed its Queen Street, Auckland, store in rented premises in 2014 after ending a long-term lease. In November 2015, the company opened a new store located on the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets, formerly occupied by stationery retailer Whitcoulls, renovating it as a three-level Farmers department store.

In 2021 there were calls for Farmers and its parent the James Pascoe Group to repay the money it took from the COVID-19 wage subsidies programme of which Farmers claimed over NZ$28 million for its over 3700 staff.

Farmers has traditionally been a middle-market retailer, on par with Sears or JC Penney in the United States. With the development of The Warehouse (a Walmart type store), Farmers decided to become a more fashionable shopping destination, ranging an increasing amount of branded products. 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 remaining department stores Ballantynes, David Jones and Smith & Caughey's, none of which are nationwide.

Departments
Farmers departments include womenswear, beauty, including serviced cosmetics, fine fragrance, health & beauty and sunglasses; lingerie, including sleepwear; menswear including mercery; accessories, footwear, and luggage; home, including kitchenware, tableware, giftware and laundry; manchester including bathroomware; small appliances; children's including childrenswear, nursery, and toys; furniture; with electronics and large appliances/whiteware in selected stores. Christmas Shop and confectionery appear October–December. Fellow James Pascoe Group companies Goldmark and Stevens also have store-within-a-store outlets within selected Farmers stores.

Since the 2003 purchase by the James Pascoe Group, the chain has focussed on the lucrative fashion apparel and beauty categories. Unprofitable and loss-making departments such as hardware and computers were discontinued.

Ownership
Farmers is privately owned by the James Pascoe Group, in turn owned by Anne Norman and family. James Pascoe Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Finance bought Farmers on 6 November 2003 from Foodlands Associates for NZ$311 million. 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 Finance Card.