- Whitcoulls
Whitcoulls is a major national bookstore chain in
New Zealand , formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs. It has 62 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in1888 , and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in1871 . The companies merged in1971 to form Whitcoulls.History
It began in
1882 in Cashel Street,Christchurch , as a partnership between a teacher of French who had become a bookseller,George Hawkes Whitcombe , and printerGeorge Tombs .In
1883 the company was among the first registered under theCompanies Act 1882 . It had market dominance for several decades. Thousands of schoolchildren were taught with the aid of Whitcombe's Progressive Primers and later enjoyed Whitcombe's Story Books such as "The Adventures of Hoppity Bobtail".The company, in common with most companies, did not have a completely trouble-free relationship with employees. A court judgment "Whitcombe & Tombs Limited v Taylor" (1907) 27 NZLR 237 stated the principle that "a well established custom or practice may become part of a contract" (as noted by the
Court of Appeal of New Zealand in CA246/03, nearly a century later, despite half a dozen intervening changes ofemployment law ).In
1971 the group as a whole was merged withDunedin -based firm Coulls Somerville Wilkie to becomeWhitcoulls , and has since been sold several times. It now operates as a retail chain only.The limited company itself described here has changed its name to reflect the changes in ownership. It became the holding company "Printing and Packaging Corporation Limited" at the time of the merger. It became "Whitcoulls Group Limited" in 1982, "WGL Group Limited" in 1993 and has been known as "WGL Retail Holdings Limited" since 1995. It is still on the companies register as company number 120265. Its current ultimate parent that can be traced appears to be "Whitcoulls Finance" in Australia, ACN 109 241 394.
After a period under the ownership of UK company
W. H. Smith , Whitcoulls is presently owned byPacific Equity Partners , a subsidiary of UK-based insurance companyPrudential , which acquired the chain in 2004.External links
* [http://whitcoulls.co.nz Company website]
* [http://www.arw.co.nz A & R Whitcoulls Group Holdings]
* [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=3W9 Potted biography of the founder's son Bertie Whitcombe]
* [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4T22 Harry Tombs, OBE]
* [http://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/aboutus.asp?storeurl=whitcoulls Whitcoulls history]
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