Merchant of Promise
Inspired by American business magazines, 24-year-old Robert Laidlaw launched his mail
order business in 1909 with a 118-page catalogue that promised ‘stern old-fashioned
unfailing honesty’ and a money-back guarantee. In a crowded marketplace, Laidlaw prospered
by pioneering a new sales channel. A pioneer of scientific management, he benchmarked
against the world’s best, encouraged staff responsibility, and relentlessly pursued efficiency.
In 1918 his company, Laidlaw Leeds, acquired the struggling Farmers Union Trading Company
in a reverse takeover. The next year Laidlaw bought 19 country stores and linked them with his
mail order business – a move six years ahead of his American counterparts.
By its 75th anniversary, in 1984, Farmers had grown to be the country’s largest department
store chain. Laidlaw’s success was proof that big companies with capital and market
dominance were vulnerable to competitors with new ideas.
Farmers’ Customer Service Landmarks:
Above, from top:
The first catalogue
The original Fort Street office
(6m x 9m) opened in 1909
The famous Hobson Street store
opened in April 1914. The country’s
largest, it featured a rooftop
playground (opposite page).
28
1922
New Zealand’s first free bus service
1922
Rooftop playground with battery-powered pedal cars
1924
Widespread time-payment on consumer goods
1928
Australasia’s first free customer carpark
1934
Farmers’ first Santa Parade
Main image: Farmers rooftop playground, c.1955. Farmers Trading Company records, Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Merchant of Promise
Inspired by American business magazines, 24-year-old Robert Laidlaw
launched his mail order business in 1909 with a 118-page catalogue
that promised ‘stern old-fashioned unfailing honesty’ and a money-back
SCIENCE OF SERVICE
guarantee. In a crowded marketplace, Laidlaw prospered by pioneering a
new sales channel. A pioneer of scientific management, he benchmarked
against the world’s best, encouraged staff responsibility, and relentlessly
pursued efficiency.
In 1918 his company, Laidlaw Leeds, acquired the struggling Farmers
Union Trading Company in a reverse takeover. The next year Laidlaw
‘We guarantee absolute satisfaction to
every customer in every transaction,
no exceptions.’ Robert Laidlaw
bought 19 country stores and linked them with his mail order business –
a move six years ahead of his American counterparts.
By its 75th anniversary, in 1984, Farmers had grown to be the country’s
largest department store chain. Laidlaw’s success was proof that big
companies with capital and market dominance were vulnerable to
The original Fort Street office
(6m x 9m) opened 1909.
competitors with new ideas.
Farmers’ Customer Service Landmarks:
1922 New Zealand’s first free bus service
1909
The Commerce Street
premises occupied three
months later.
Before the first year ended
Robert Laidlaw moved into this
four-storey warehouse.
Seventeen months after
starting in business he
occupied the other half of the
warehouse block.
The Farmers Union Trading
Company before its merger
with Laidlaw Leeds.
The famous Hobson Street
store opened in April 1914.
With 2.4 ha of floor space, it
was the country’s largest.
1914
1922 Rooftop playground with battery-powered pedal cars
1924 Widespread time-payment on consumer goods
1928 Australasia’s first free customer carpark
1934 Farmers’ first Santa Parade
Celebrating New Zealand Business
29
The House that James Built
Seventy years after completing The University of Auckland’s beloved clock tower (1926)
Fletcher Construction was at work on another lofty landmark – the 328m-high Sky Tower.
Taller than the Eiffel Tower, the 20,000 tonne structure stands above any other in the Southern
Hemisphere. Fashioned from concrete, steel and composite materials, and able to withstand
200km/hr winds and force eight earthquakes, Sky Tower is a triumph of the builder’s art.
Other notable Fletcher Construction projects include Auckland’s Civic Theatre (1929),
Wellington Railway Station (1937) and the Getty Center in Los Angeles (1997), as well as
hospitals, hotels, roads and other structures throughout New Zealand and the South Pacific.
It all began in 1908 when Scottish immigrant James Fletcher built a modest house for a Dunedin
grocer. He went on to acquire building materials businesses, laying the foundation for today’s
parent company, Fletcher Building. Fletcher Construction continues to put its mark on our built
environment – including that of The University of Auckland Business School itself.
Above, from top:
The University of Auckland
Clock Tower, 1926
Sky Tower, Sky City,
Auckland, 1997
Opposite page: Detail of The
University of Auckland Business
School complex.
30
Image: The University of Auckland Business School building (detail).
‘We have been willing to take risks
on products and processes quite
new to New Zealand.’ Jim Fletcher, 1974
The House that James Built
Seventy years after completing the University of Auckland’s
beloved clock tower (1926) Fletcher Construction was at
work on another lofty landmark – the 328m-high Sky Tower.
Taller than the Eiffel Tower, the 20,000 tonne structure stands
above any other in the Southern Hemisphere. Fashioned
from concrete, steel and composite materials, and able to
withstand 200km/hr winds and force eight earthquakes,
Sky Tower is a triumph of the builder’s art.
Other notable Fletcher Construction projects include
Auckland’s Civic Theatre (1929), Wellington Railway Station
(1937) and the Getty Center in Los Angeles (1997), as well
as hospitals, hotels, roads and other structures throughout
New Zealand and the South Pacific.
It all began in 1908 when Scottish immigrant James
Fletcher built a modest house for a Dunedin grocer. He
went on to acquire building materials businesses, laying the
foundation for today’s parent company, Fletcher Building.
Fletcher Construction continues to put its mark on our built
environment – including that of the University of Auckland
Business School itself.
Celebrating New Zealand Business
31
Horticulture Comes of Age
It all started with the chance gift of monkey peach seeds to a New Zealand missionary
at Ichang on China’s Yangtze river. Sent to Europe earlier, the climbing shrub (Actinidia
deliciosa) had done little more than ornament gardens. But when brought back to Wanganui
in 1904 it was bred to produce a large, exotic fruit brimming with health-giving vitamins.
Known here as a Chinese gooseberry, it was reinvented as the kiwifruit when exporting
began in earnest in the 1960s. From its Bay of Plenty heartland, the green-fleshed kiwifruit
took overseas markets by storm. A smooth-skinned golden variety has now been developed
and together they account for more than a third of the country’s horticultural exports.
New Zealand grower-owned Zespri International is the world’s leading kiwifruit marketer,
shipping more than 90 million trays of fruit a year to 60 countries. Its goal: to be a year-round
supplier in all markets through a globally integrated supply chain.
32
Mainstay of the world’s kiwifruit industries – the New Zealand-bred ‘Hayward’ cultivar.
‘A seed on fertile ground.’
It all started with the chance gift of monkey peach seeds to a New Zealand missionary at Ichang on China’s
Yangtze river. Sent to Europe earlier, the climbing shrub (Actinidia deliciosa) had done little more than ornament
gardens. But when brought back to Wanganui in 1904 it was bred to produce a large, exotic fruit brimming
with health-giving vitamins.
Known here as a Chinese gooseberry, it was reinvented as the kiwifruit when exporting began in earnest in
the 1960s. From its Bay of Plenty heartland, the green-fleshed kiwifruit took overseas markets by storm.
A smooth-skinned golden variety has now been developed and together they account for more than a third of the
country’s horticultural exports.
New Zealand grower-owned Zespri International is the world’s leading kiwifruit marketer, shipping more than 90
million trays of fruit a year to 60 countries. Its goal: to be a year-round supplier in all markets through a globally
integrated supply chain.
Celebrating New Zealand Business
33
The Power of Commitment
Some claim Sir Angus Tait built the electronics industry in New Zealand single-handed.
Certainly Tait Electronics, the Christchurch company he created in 1969, was from
the outset a cornerstone of the country’s high-tech sector.
A tight focus on mobile radio and continuous investment in R&D helped Tait grow to become
the Southern Hemisphere’s largest mobile radio supplier. These days it sells cutting-edge
products to some 160 countries and territories – from the bustling streets of Beijing to the
Canadian Rockies and the icy vastness of Antarctica.
Angus Tait, who died in 2007, is also remembered for something else – a determination to keep
the company in New Zealand hands. Rather than ‘trading it all for a bag of gold’, he cemented
Tait’s future independence by putting his own shares into a charitable trust.
34
The Power of Commitment
Some claim Sir Angus Tait built the electronics industry in New Zealand single-handed.
Certainly Tait Electronics, the Christchurch company he created in 1969, was from the outset
a cornerstone of the country’s high-tech sector.
A tight focus on mobile radio and continuous investment in R&D helped Tait grow to become the
Southern Hemisphere’s largest mobile radio supplier. These days it sells cutting edge products to some
160 countries and territories – from the bustling streets of Beijing to the Canadian Rockies and the
icy vastness of Antarctica.
Angus Tait, who died in 2007, is also remembered for something else – a determination to keep the
company in New Zealand hands. Rather than ‘trading it all for a bag of gold’, he cemented Tait’s future
independence by putting his own shares into a charitable trust.
COMMITMENT
com•mit•ment | k mitm nt |
noun
the act of committing or the state of being committed.
• dedication; application : the company’s commitment to quality
• a pledge or undertaking
• an act of pledging or setting aside something.
|
Celebrating New Zealand Business
35
The Anatomy of Success
Sir Edmund Hillary
(1919-2008)
‘I have used my fear as a stimulating factor, rather than allowing it to paralyse me.’
First to climb Mt. Everest
Leader of the first team to drive to the South Pole (in modified farm tractors)
Founder of the Himalayan Trust for humanitarian work in Nepal
Celebrating New Zealand Business
Sir Edmund Hillary, photographed
by Yousuf Karsh, 1960.
Sir Ernest Rutherford
(1871-1937)
‘We didn’t have the money, so we had to think.’
Discoverer of the atomic nucleus
Inspiring director of the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
President of the Royal Society
Nobel laureate
36
‘We didn’t have the money,
so we had to think.’
The Anatomy of Success
Below left: Ernest Rutherford. Below right: Hillary attempts Everest.
Left hand panel: Sir Edmund Hillary, photographed by Yousuf Karsh, 1960.
Ernest Rutherford
Sir Edmund Hillary
(1919-2008)
‘I have used my fear as a stimulating factor, rather
than allowing it to paralyse me.’
First to climb Mt. Everest
Leader of the first team to drive to the South Pole
(in modified farm tractors)
Founder of the Himalayan Trust for humanitarian
work in Nepal
Sir Ernest Rutherford
(1871-1937)
‘We didn’t have the money, so we had to think.’
Discoverer of the atomic nucleus
Inspiring director of the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
President of the Royal Society
Nobel laureate
Celebrating New Zealand Business
37
The Ferment of New Ideas
Captain Cook toasted his landfall in 1769 by brewing the country’s first beer (from rimu shoots,
to stop scurvy). It was thirsty work building a nation, and breweries, distilleries and grog shops
soon sprang up to satisfy demand.
The national drink got a boost in 1929 when Joseph Coutts launched Waitemata Brewery,
floated the next year as Dominion Breweries. The Auckland start-up fought off prohibitionists,
a doubling of excise duty, 6 o’clock closing and the market dominance of a rival brewing group
to become the nation’s number two brewer.
Above: Morton Coutts’ plan for the
continuous fermentation process
(patented 1956).
Innovative from the start, Dominion Breweries developed the ingenious continuous fermentation
process and was the first to introduce seating and carpet in the country’s public bars. It was also
the first to sell low-alcohol beer and the first in any industry to offer annual, profit-based bonuses.
Dominion Breweries’ technical prowess is matched by marketing savvy – typified by the widely
copied ‘Yeah right!’ Tui billboard campaign, which leverages off the Kiwi vernacular to build
brand awareness.
Renamed DB in 1992, the company includes Monteith’s, Tui and Mainland, as well as Waitemata
Brewery, and is part of Asia Pacific Breweries.
38
‘The impossible is
only that which we have
not yet learned to do.’
INGENUITY
ENGAGING
C R E AT I V E
UNIQUE
The ferment of new ideas.
Captain Cook toasted his landfall in 1769 by brewing the country’s first beer (from
rimu shoots, to stop scurvy). It was thirsty work building a nation, and breweries,
distilleries and grog shops soon sprang up to satisfy demand.
The national drink got a boost in 1929 when Joseph Coutts launched Waitemata
Brewery, floated the next year as Dominion Breweries. The Auckland start-up
fought off prohibitionists, a doubling of excise duty, 6 o’clock closing and the
market dominance of a rival brewing group to become the nation’s number
two brewer.
Innovative from the start, Dominion Breweries developed the ingenious continuous
fermentation process and was the first to introduce seating and carpet in the
country’s public bars. It was also the first to sell low-alcohol beer and the first in
continuous
fermentation
process
any industry to offer annual, profit-based bonuses.
Dominion Breweries’ technical prowess is matched by marketing savvy – typified
by the widely copied ‘Yeah right!’ Tui billboard campaign, which leverages off the
Kiwi vernacular to build brand awareness.
Renamed DB in 1992, the company includes Monteith’s, Tui and Mainland, as well
as Waitemata Brewery, and is part of Asia Pacific Breweries.
Celebrating New Zealand Business
39
Product Innovation and Design
Engineering the Wow! Factor
Created by gifted marketer Woolf Fisher and merchant Maurice Paykel in 1934, Fisher & Paykel
started life as an importer of electric refrigerators. Import licencing later forced the company
to make its own appliances to survive.
Since then Fisher & Paykel has looked to its engineers to win market share, investing heavily
in R&D to develop automated production lines and push design boundaries. From a dualtemperature refrigerator (1957) to its electronic washing machine (1985), the company
has worked hard to turn creative ideas into proven products. Inspired by filing cabinets,
the elegant DishDrawer dishwasher (1996) secured the company’s beachhead in the
United States. The glass-topped IZONA CookSurface (2008) features another world-first
– retractable gas burners for easy cleaning.
Designed for Life
Above, from top:
The DishDrawer dishwasher (1996).
The Orca Speedsuit.
Head-turning design has helped Phil & Teds become a leading nursery hardware brand.
From inline baby buggies to lightweight travel cots and highchairs that clip on to any table,
the company’s fresh thinking has created products with attitude. Marketed under the slogan
‘adapt & survive!’, Phil & Teds’ quirky gear aims to free parents to live active lives with their kids.
The company’s approach has struck a chord around the world, with its products now sold in
more than 40 countries.
Perfect Skin
Dissatisfied with the wetsuits available for triathletes, in 1992 Scott Unsworth set out to make
his own. Word soon spread and Orca Speedsuits quickly became a favourite with competitors
attracted to their high-performance design. Demand for other sports gear followed and in 2004
the company supplied apparel for the entire New Zealand Olympic team. Taking inspiration from
its namesake, Orca continues to innovate, wedding sleek style to a new generation of materials
created for maximum speed, lightness and flexibility.
40
Prosperity demands process and
product innovation.
Engineering the Wow! Factor
Created by gifted marketer Woolf Fisher and merchant Maurice Paykel in 1934, Fisher & Paykel started life as an importer
of electric refrigerators. Import licencing later forced the company to make its own appliances to survive.
Since then Fisher & Paykel has looked to its engineers to win market share, investing heavily in R&D to develop automated
production lines and push design boundaries.
From a dual-temperature refrigerator (1957) to its electronic washing machine (1985), the company has worked hard to
turn creative ideas into proven products. Inspired by filing cabinets, the elegant DishDrawer dishwasher (1996) secured
the company’s beachhead in the United States. The glass-topped IZONA CookSurface (2008) features another world-first
– retractable gas burners for easy cleaning.
Designed for Life
Head-turning design has helped phil&teds become a leading nursery hardware brand. From inline baby buggies to lightweight
travel cots and highchairs that clip on to any table, the company’s fresh thinking has created products with attitude.
Marketed under the slogan ‘adapt & survive!’, phil&teds’ quirky gear aims to free parents to live active lives with their kids.
The company’s approach has struck a chord around the world, with its products now sold in more than 40 countries.
Perfect Skin
Dissatisfied with the wetsuits available for triathletes, in 1992 Scott Unsworth set out to make his own. Word soon spread and
Orca Speedsuits quickly became a favourite with competitors attracted to their high-performance design. Demand for other
sports gear followed and in 2004 the company supplied apparel for the entire New Zealand Olympic team.
Taking inspiration from its namesake, Orca continues to innovate, wedding sleek style to a new generation of materials created
for maximum speed, lightness and flexibility.
INNOVATION
Celebrating New Zealand Business
41