portfolio hunter publishing
Company Histories General Non-fiction Education
Briscoes
150 Years in New Zealand The Brief To produce a 150 year history of the company’s presence and influence in New Zealand. To convey the depth and breadth of Briscoes activites in New Zealand; demonstrate the company’s significant place in the growth of the New Zealand economy, and highlight the reinvention of the company over the past twenty years. To convey the information in an entertaining and colourful way with broad appeal to consumers. 304 pages : Hard cover : Full colour throughout : Available to public : Instore promotion
Briscoes 150 Years
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By 1880, tea was the thirdlargest imported commodity in New Zealand (behind drapery goods and sugar), with the country spending more on the beverage annually than it did on hardware and ironmongery.
Tea, Anyone? Tea is not the sort of product usually associated with a hardware company, but in the nineteenth century Briscoes was New Zealand’s largest importer of tea. It was a lucrative commodity: for New Zealanders, where the greatest proportion of the European population was of British extraction, the afternoon ‘cuppa’ was a staple beverage—everyone had one daily, and usually several. By 1880, tea was the third-largest imported commodity in New Zealand (behind drapery goods and sugar), with the country spending more on the beverage annually than it did on hardware and ironmongery. Even by 1900, New Zealand had the highest tea consumption per head of population in the world—nine pounds of tea for every man, woman, and child. As an importer with connections in the West Indies, Briscoes leveraged its network not
only to supply tea to thirsty New Zealanders, but also to produce its own house blends: Gold and Silver Crest, the Avondale Blend of pure Ceylon tea, and Surisanda. By 1898, the Briscoes Crest Blend was the most popular brand of tea on sale in the New Zealand market. In part, Briscoes attributed their success in the tea market to a strategic acquisition. An English tea expert, trained in Mincing Lane, London (the epicentre of tea and spice traders for the world trade in tea as a commodity), had been sent to Dunedin to run the New Zealand tea department and ensure that only the best blends were sold. It was a combination of ‘purity, strength, and economy’, said Briscoes, that made its tea business so good—before eventually exiting the trade in 1902, selling its tea department to a firm in Christchurch.
1910 Wunderlich In the first two decades of the twentieth century, two products set the commercial direction of the firm for the next half-century and delivered Briscoes a financial windfall: Wunderlich ceiling tiles and Marseilles roofing tiles.
W
underlich pressed-metal ceiling tiles were the invention of two German brothers: Alfred and Ernest Wunderlich. The brothers, who had immigrated to Australia in the mid1880s, first imported German stamped-metal ceilings for distribution to the Sydney building industry. In 1888, Ernest and Alfred took out their own patent for an improved tile, and with local Sydney ceiling manufacturer, W.H. Rocke & Co., commenced manufacture. In 1900, the Wunderlichs were joined by brother Otto. Although a doctor by training, Otto set about improving administration, production, and selling techniques and soon Wunderlich had branches in every Australian state. The popularity of the ceiling tile was easy to understand. Traditional plaster ceilings were labour intensive to erect, ornate decoration was expensive, cornices and mouldings were apt to crack, and the ceiling had to be painted when finished. The Wunderlich ceiling tile was produced in ornate classical and Victorian-style designs; or, architects could offer their own design specifications which would be made to suit. The metal tiles were more durable than plaster and came pre-painted. Complementing the ceiling tiles were steel wall linings, cornices, and dadoes: all of which were manufactured in the thousands, and all pre-painted. Previous page: Ceiling roses from the 1895 Wunderlich catalogue. Right: A promotional bulldog clip advertising the new wonder products. Far right: Wunderlich ceiling tiles, supplied by Briscoes, adorn the ornate vestibule of Dunedin Railway Station.
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Briscoes 150 Years in New Zealand
Everything You Could Possibly Want By the 1930s, Briscoes stores around the country were a Mecca for everything you could possibly want for everyday life in the Dominion: household furnishings, garden tools, Pyrex dishes, sporting goods, lawn mowers, guns, radios, watches, crystal vases, tea sets, ‘Gumlypta’ disinfectant, even chimney pots.
In part, the comprehensive range on offer was because Briscoes, as a major wholesaler, serviced a diverse clientele of New Zealand shopkeepers and contractors. Its town and country sales reps called on plumbers, builders, engineers, small hardware stores, government departments, sporting clubs, even fruiterers. There remained, however, a keen difference between Briscoes in Australia and Briscoes in New Zealand: the New Zealand stores were retailers as well as wholesalers. The imposing Wellington store on Jervois Quay, for example, continually booked advertising space in Wellington’s Evening Post proclaiming its current promotions and special offers. As a result, the goods shown here, all promoted by Briscoes in the 1930s, offer a unique snapshot of
the eclectic tastes of New Zealanders. Where else could you find people equally at ease sipping tea from Royal Doulton china cups, at the same time as they were experimenting in the back shed with their new Lane’s Pattern possum trap? Equally, the 1930s saw the early stages of the home appliance boom, and refrigerators, washing machines, radios, and vacuum cleaners all made an appearance. The Briscoes Wellington branch, offering customers a late-night Friday, offered curious Wellingtonians plenty to choose from—for him, and for her.
As a result, the goods shown here, all promoted by Briscoes in the 1930s, offer a unique snapshot of the eclectic tastes of New Zealanders.
1990 In a year, Tammy has shot as many as 30-plus commercials: two a day is common. Groups, too, invite her to speak about life as the Briscoes Lady.
baker that I’d bought from Briscoes years before,’ she says. ‘I was thrilled to be asked to do two commercials for them.’ The first commercial was filmed poolside, in a friend’s house in Christchurch: promoting the ‘End of Summer’ clearance: beach towels, outdoor furniture, BBQs, and Rover mowers. Wells was a natural, and a two-ad deal soon turned into a year’s contract. In 1990, Tammy was pregnant with first son, James. ‘I was terrified to tell them,’ she recalls. ‘We kept on filming; and in the end they just took the camera higher and higher. In those days, Briscoes used to sell Tommee Tippee products. I’d always hoped they’d use my pregnancy to push nurseryware and viewers could watch the Briscoes Lady get bigger and bigger on screen—it didn’t take off.’ In a year, Tammy has shot as many as 30-plus commercials: two a day is common. Groups, too, invite her to speak about life as the Briscoes Lady. Tammy used to do this often: she loves people, and photos of friends and family adventures adorn the house. ‘I’ve met some fantastic people,’ she says. ‘And folk are always unpredictable. I remember one group I spoke to, this lady came up to me afterwards. She smiled at me and said: “You make me sick!”
I was taken aback. “You’re always so happy and smiley,” ’ she continued. “When you come on that television, I could just throw a brick at it.” As she turned, she said with a gleam in her eye: “A polystyrene brick, of course!”’ Not all the commercials have been plain sailing. One Easter, the Briscoes creative director had the bright idea of using rabbits. ‘Kids and animals can always be a bit tricky on television,’ laughs Tammy. Sitting cross-legged on the studio floor to present the commercial, she was surrounded by a dozen fluffy white rabbits. ‘I held the two largest rabbits—which covered my dress in fur—while the little ones, who weren’t at all interested in television, hopped all over the set, wee-ing and poo-ing everywhere. It was hilarious, but it took three hours to do the shoot. When I finally stood up, I buckled over. All that rabbit holding—my legs had gone to sleep.’ Wells’ most painful commercial occurred one winter. ‘Briscoes wanted me in a snowstorm,’ she says. ‘Trouble was, they used Lux flakes for the snow—and I had to look directly to camera with these soap flakes blowing in my face. If you can picture a Lux flake, it has a sharp, diamond-shaped tip to it—and under pressure, these things are like little spikes hitting you. Once in my eyes, they would dissolve and go all soapy— it was awful, but we got there.’
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1990
Briscoes 150 Years
2000 Below: The large, open-plan area of Urban Loft provided ample room to display the thousands of quality
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Briscoes 150 Years in New Zealand
stores such as Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma—a homewares store aimed at the top end of the market—and hoped for 11 potential outlets. The downtown Auckland location surrounded by professionals working in the city’s skyscrapers seemed a logical starting point. However, what the team could not know was that the 2007 global financial crisis was just around the corner—and with the crisis came redundancies in the surrounding city highrises. As a result, Urban Loft never attained the revenues anticipated. ‘I blame myself,’ says Duke. ‘The concept was great, but the timing was abominable.’ Urban Loft was closed in 2011.
products on offer.
With Urban Loft, the Briscoes team wanted to replicate the concept championed by US stores such as Crate & Barrel and WilliamsSonoma—a homewares store aimed at the top end of the market.
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2000
You’ll Never Buy Better
Living & Giving In November 2006, a month after the Urban Loft launch, Briscoes announced the purchase of the Living & Giving stores off PRG, former owner of the Blue Star Group. Living & Giving had been established in 1987, and PRG purchased the chain from its founder in 2000 for $5.1 million. At that point, the company had a handful of stores and was doing a turnover of $10 million. It was small fry for $360 million PRG, owner of appliance retailers Bond & Bond, Noel Leeming, and Computer City. But for PRG, Living & Giving became the problem child. Despite opening further stores, the chain struggled, and was soon in a loss-making situation. A two-year restructuring programme which reduced the stores from 16 to nine concluded in 2005, but made no discernible difference. Living & Giving was put up for sale. Briscoes’ decision to purchase was done eyes wide open. The Living & Giving chain had first been considered as a potential acquisition in late 2001, but hadn’t gone ahead. In 2006, the deal was done. The nine stores had about
Above: The simple but striking designs of a range of aromatic diffusers at Living & Giving.
Jason
50 Years of Leading by Design The Brief To relate the 50 year history of this family-owned and run company in an personal and engaging way, and to showcase the many designs that have helped to achieve the growth and longevity of this important New Zealand business. 208 pages :Hardc over : Full colour throughout : Comissioned exclusively for organisation : Shrinkwrapped
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Jason — 50
years of leading by design
The beautiful double-variegated rose from the Charlotte series. BELOW: Custis Garden Camellia. RIGHT:
WILLIAMSBURG Building on its success at the New York Botanical Garden, in 2007 Jason was selected to produce Colonial Williamsburg tablemats in an exclusive arrangement with the historic city. Once the capital of the American colony of Virginia, Williamsburg is one of a series of key Independence-era cities on America’s East Coast including Yorktown and Jamestown. Yet, instead of being relegated to a bygone era, Williamsburg has been maintained in its authentic eighteenthInspired by illustrations from Williamsburg’s rare books collection is this modern rendition of Meadow Fern. ABOVE:
century situation. The preservation is the result of a remarkable plan enacted by local clergyman William Goodwin and financed by John D. Rockefeller Jnr in 1926. With painstaking care to original detail and relentlessly avoiding modern development, 500 colonial buildings in the centre of Williamsburg were reinstated to their original condition funded by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. In keeping with the restoration, gunsmiths, apothecaries, coopers, and wheelwrights, among others, continue to practise their trades marketing authentic reproduction goods from the Independence era.
Moving Forward
185
Garden Images, one of the most enduring designs in the Williamsburg Collection. The series was produced with both a black and a red background. LEFT and ABOVE:
Jason placemats, coasters, and trays were a welcome addition to the artisan marketplace. Florals tastefully led the way, with designs such as Charlotte, Meadow Fern, and Lightfoot House. The most popular line is Williamsburg Garden Images. The placemats were inspired by the many historical gardens at Williamsburg, which have been painstakingly re-created from historical documents. The Jason Williamsburg Garden Images collection captures this in full colour, and has appeared both in red and black, on cutting boards, mugs, lap trays, scatter trays, and even a special reproduction wooden tray.
114
Jason — 50
years of leading by design
THE ROUND MAT
The round mat, produced originally
the Jason Designer Collection in 1983,
the round product. This included
by tablemat companies in the
by the mid-1980s nearly a third of
the refined Chatswood, Sweet Pea,
nineteenth century, was reintroduced
all Jason mats (37 designs) were
and Waterlily. By the late 1990s,
by Jason in the 1980s. Offering
round. Best-sellers such as Tuliptime
interest in the round tablemats had
a point of difference from the
and Iristime were released both on a
tempered to around 10 per cent of
traditional rectangle mat, and
white as well as a black background.
the collection, but round mats offered
featuring artwork from the Designer
Also produced were the classic
a distinctive edge and took new-
Collection series, interest in the round
RedoutĂŠ Roses, New Zealand Birds,
generation designs such as Sea Bounty
tablemats mushroomed. Following
and New Zealand Wildflowers, along
by New Zealand artist Margaret Scott
their launch under the banner of
with designs created especially for
particularly well.
Sales and Distribution
115
(clockwise from top): New Zealand Birds; Opus; Fairies; Blue Magpie; and Tuliptime on White.
THIS PAGE
Sea Bounty (left), Poppies by the Sea (top), and Pacifica (right). OPPOSITE PAGE:
Farmers
Your Store for 100 Years The Brief To author a well-researched history of the Farmers Trading Company, celebrating the role that Farmers has played in the many communities across New Zealand. Story to be richly illustrated and use personal reminiscences of individuals and customers. 304 pages : Hard cover : Paperback with flaps : Full colour throughout
General non-fiction
uckland 1909: 24-year-old businessman Robert Laidlaw launches a mail-order business that will become the
seven minutes, a free carpark, a Christmas parade, in-store giveaways, prizes worth a year’s income, the highest-quality goods at the lowest possible prices—few have seen a business like it. Nor does he stop there. His launch into chain stores pre-dates his American counterparts. He is the author of one of the finest mission statements ever written, an early exponent of welfare work, and an efficiency expert before F.W. Taylor’s classic Scientific Management was even published. Behind it all lay a carefully planned strategy for business success.
Man For Our Time is an incredible blend of business shores of New Zealand, from Henry Ford’s moving assembly line in Detroit to the beaches of Normandy during World War II, this panoramic biography of one of the 20th century’s greatest businessmen is a story that will capture your heart and inspire you to action.
The Founder
IAN HUNTER
genius and faith. From the Highlands of Scotland to the
ROBERT L
MAN FOR OUR TIME
A
adventure of a lifetime. In a few years it grows to become the largest store in the country and sets new standards for what it means to be in business. Free buses to his store every
ROBERT LAIDLAW
Updated edition with over 100 new images
‘A re
Natio LaidlawCoversFINAL.indd 1
50 Ways to Love Auckland With so much to see and do in Auckland, where do you begin? 50 Ways to Love Auckland does the planning for you. We’ve chosen 50 of the essential sights and attractions in this fantastic city and brought them together in this handy guide.
Robert Laidlaw: M
Founder of the Farmers panoramic book charts th Laidlaw. Aged 24, he comm Zealand’s largest departme Relive those moments in t one of New Zealand’s g
LAIDLAW of Farmers
emarkable book’
onal Business Review 4/10/11 1:19 PM
Man For Our Time
Trading Company, this he life and times of Robert menced what became New ent store chain - Farmers. this inspiring biography of greatest entrepreneurs.
Imagine Why are some people more innovative than others? What are some of the enduring characteristics of great innovators? In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Imagine examines the principles and practices of innovation in companies and organizations.
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Write That
Dr Hunter has helped thousands of writing, and he brings that experience t of materials
Always conscious of different learning s are filled with diagrams and charts, addition, Ian offers lots of examples so what is expected of them when it co to speak to student and teacher grou raising student perf
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hunter publishing
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