merchant of promise

28

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 scientifi c management, he benchmarked

against the world’s best, encouraged staff responsibility, and relentlessly pursued effi ciency.

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:

1922 New Zealand’s fi rst free bus service

1922 Rooftop playground with battery-powered pedal cars

1924 Widespread time-payment on consumer goods

1928 Australasia’s fi rst free customer carpark

1934 Farmers’ fi rst Santa Parade

Above, from top:

The fi rst catalogue

The original Fort Street offi ce(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).

29

SCIENCE OF SERVICESCIENCE OF‘ We guarantee absolute satisfaction to every customer in every transaction, no exceptions.’ Robert Laidlaw

The original Fort Street offi ce (6m x 9m) opened 1909.

The Commerce Street premises occupied three months later.

Before the fi rst 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 fl oor space, it was the country’s largest.

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 scientifi c management, he benchmarked

against the world’s best, encouraged staff responsibility, and relentlessly

pursued effi ciency.

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:

1922 New Zealand’s fi rst free bus service

1922 Rooftop playground with battery-powered pedal cars

1924 Widespread time-payment on consumer goods

1928 Australasia’s fi rst free customer carpark

1934 Farmers’ fi rst Santa Parade

Mai

n im

age:

Far

mer

s ro

ofto

p pl

aygr

ound

, c.1

955.

Far

mer

s Tr

adin

g C

ompa

ny r

ecor

ds, A

uckl

and

War

Mem

oria

l Mus

eum

.

1909 1914

Celebrating New Zealand Business

30

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 Pacifi c.

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 AucklandClock Tower, 1926

Sky Tower, Sky City, Auckland, 1997

Opposite page: Detail of The University of Auckland Business School complex.

31

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 Pacifi c.

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.

Imag

e: T

he U

nive

rsity

of

Auc

klan

d B

usin

ess

Sch

ool b

uild

ing

(det

ail)

.

‘ We have been willing to take risks on products and processes quite new to New Zealand.’ Jim Fletcher, 1974


32

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-fl eshed 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.

33

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-fl eshed 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.

‘A seed on fertile ground.’

Mai

nsta

y of

the

wor

ld’s

kiw

ifrui

t in

dust

ries

– t

he N

ew Z

eala

nd-b

red

‘Hay

war

d’ c

ultiv

ar.


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.

35

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.

com•mit•ment | k |mitm nt |nounthe 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.

COMMITMENTCOMMITMENT


36

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 fi rst team to drive to the South Pole (in modifi ed 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

Sir Edmund Hillary, photographed by Yousuf Karsh, 1960.


37

‘We didn’t have the money, so we had to think.’ Ernest Rutherford

Left

han

d pa

nel:

Sir

Edm

und

Hill

ary,

pho

togr

aphe

d by

You

suf

Kar

sh, 1

960.

Bel

ow le

ft: E

rnes

t R

uthe

rfor

d. B

elow

rig

ht: H

illar

y at

tem

pts

Eve

rest

.

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 fi rst team to drive to the South Pole

(in modifi ed 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


38

The Ferment of New Ideas

Captain Cook toasted his landfall in 1769 by brewing the country’s fi rst 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,

fl oated 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 fi rst to introduce seating and carpet in the country’s public bars. It was also

the fi rst to sell low-alcohol beer and the fi rst in any industry to offer annual, profi t-based bonuses.

Dominion Breweries’ technical prowess is matched by marketing savvy – typifi ed 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 Pacifi c Breweries.

Above: Morton Coutts’ plan for the continuous fermentation process (patented 1956).

39

The ferment of new ideas.

Captain Cook toasted his landfall in 1769 by brewing the country’s fi rst 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, fl oated 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 fi rst to introduce seating and carpet in the

country’s public bars. It was also the fi rst to sell low-alcohol beer and the fi rst in

any industry to offer annual, profi t-based bonuses.

Dominion Breweries’ technical prowess is matched by marketing savvy – typifi ed

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 Pacifi c Breweries.

‘The impossible is only that which we have not yet learned to do.’

ENGAGING CREATIVEUNIQUE

INGENUITY

continuous

fermentation

process


40

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 dual-

temperature refrigerator (1957) to its electronic washing machine (1985), the company

has worked hard to turn creative ideas into proven products. Inspired by fi ling cabinets,

the elegant DishDrawer dishwasher (1996) secured the company’s beachhead in the

United States. The glass-topped IZONA CookSurface (2008) features another world-fi rst

– 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

Dissatisfi ed 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 fl exibility.

Above, from top:

The DishDrawer dishwasher (1996).

The Orca Speedsuit.

41

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 fi ling cabinets, the elegant DishDrawer dishwasher (1996) secured

the company’s beachhead in the United States. The glass-topped IZONA CookSurface (2008) features another world-fi rst

– 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

Dissatisfi ed 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 fl exibility.

Prosperity demands process and product innovation.


merchant of promise

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