Briscoe Group

"This article is about the retail chain. For the professional wrestling tag team, see Briscoe Brothers"

Infobox_Company
company_name = Briscoe Group (BGR)
company_
company_type = Public
company_slogan = You'll Never Buy Better
foundation = Wolverhampton, England, 1781
location = Auckland, New Zealand
key_people = Rodney Duke, Group Managing Director
industry = Retail (Homewares & Sports Equipment)
num_employees = 1500
products = Briscoes Homeware
Rebel Sport
homepage = [http://www.briscoegroup.co.nz/ www.briscoegroup.co.nz] (Briscoe Group) [http://www.briscoes.co.nz/ www.briscoes.co.nz] (Briscoes Homeware) [http://www.rebelsport.co.nz/ www.rebelsport.co.nz] (Rebel Sport)

Briscoe Group is a New Zealand retail chain. It has 60 department stores throughout New Zealand trading under the Briscoes and Rebel Sport nameplates.

History

* 1781: Original Briscoes business established in Wolverhampton, England and steadily expanded into the British Colonies including Australia & New Zealand.
* 1862: First Briscoes warehouse and store established on the corner of Princes and Jetty streets in Dunedin, New Zealand.
* 1973: Australian and New Zealand operations of Briscoes purchased by Merbank Corporation of Australia.
* 1977: Hagemeyer of The Netherlands purchases Briscoes New Zealand.
* 1988: Hagemeyer recruits Rod Duke as Managing Director of Briscoes. His mandate was to prepare the business for sale.
* 1990: Briscoes bought by the RA Duke Trust, a trust established by Rod Duke.
* 1995: Briscoes negotiates a limited franchise agreement with Rebel Sport Australia, giving Briscoes exclusive rights to the Rebel Sport brand in New Zealand.
* 1996: First Rebel Sport store opens in Panmure, Auckland.
* 1997: First Rebel Sport store outside of Auckland opens.
* 1999: Agreement with Rebel Sport Australia for the franchise to be terminated with effect from April 2005, after which Briscoe will continue to have exclusive rights to the name in New Zealand.
* 2001: Retailing interests total 28 Briscoes stores and 11 Rebel Sports stores. Briscoe Group goes public and lists on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX).
* 2003: Retailing interests total 29 Briscoes stores and 15 Rebel Sports stores.
* 2006: Retailing interests total 38 Briscoes stores and 22 Rebel Sports stores.
* 2008: Retailing interests total 54 Briscoes stores and 32 Rebel Sports stores.

Nameplates

Briscoes Homeware

Briscoes Homeware is a discount store selling exclusively homeware at heavily discounted prices. It is comparable in size to a medium size discount department store. Many brands are exclusively imported by Briscoes, allowing for such low prices. It is often remarked that Briscoes has a continuous sale, as there is always a sale of some sort on, no matter what time of year it is. Currently there are 38 stores trading throughout New Zealand.

Rebel Sport

Rebel Sport is the largest sport equipment and apparel chain in New Zealand, with 22 stores currently trading. It was born out of a franchise agreement between Briscoe Group and Rebel Sport Australia in 1995. Briscoe has exclusive rights to the Rebel Sport name in New Zealand. Like its sister nameplate Briscoes, Rebel Sport is comparable in size to a medium size discount department store. The chain does have a lowest price guarantee, although its unique duopoly position in the market allows it to stock a relatively high-end range while providing wider appeal through a calendar crammed with discount sale promotions.

Up until 2006, Rebel had no big-box sports competitor, prompting the use of the well-known slogan "No one's got more sports gear". However, Lane Walker Rudkin, owners of sports franchise Stirling Sports, have announced plans to launch several large format stores across the country, beginning with a store in Christchurch, which opened in mid 2006. This followed the collapse of a deal between Briscoe Group and LWR a year earlier, which would have seen Briscoe buyout the Stirling franchise. Since Stirling's big box launch, Rebel has dropped their original slogan, which has been replaced with "Let's Play", backed by a new marketing campaign which targets a wider audience from the traditional club-orientated team sport audience. The company is also continuing their aggressive expansion programme, launching several smaller-format stores such as Napier and Taupo to allow branches to reach further into provincial areas.

Briscoe owns the naming rights to the New Zealand segment of the Super 14 rugby union competition, and has branded it the "Rebel Sport Super 14".

External links

* [http://www.briscoegroup.co.nz Briscoe Group]
* [http://www.briscoes.co.nz Briscoes]
* [http://www.rebelsport.co.nz Rebel Sport]
* [http://www.urbanloft.co.nz Urban Loft]
* [http://www.livingandgiving.co.nz Living & Giving]