Woolworths variety store at 114-116 Heretaunga St, Hastings, when it opened in December 1933. The original façade can still be seen today (minus the Woolworths plaster etching, long disappeared). Credit / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank Lovell-Smith 878_Woolworths_0383
Woolworths variety store at 114-116 Heretaunga St, Hastings, when it opened in December 1933. The original façade can still be seen today (minus the Woolworths plaster etching, long disappeared). Credit / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank Lovell-Smith 878_Woolworths_0383
OPINION:
Woolworths will be well known to many New Zealanders as a former supermarket and variety (general merchandise) retail chain.
The first New Zealand Woolworths store was in Cuba St, Wellington, in 1929 – initially selling general merchandise.
It was seen as a bold strategy for the 1924, Australian-founded companyto expand into New Zealand at the beginning of the Great Depression. One of the original founders, Percy Christmas, personally oversaw its introduction in Wellington.
Observing the introduction of Woolworths (NZ) Ltd into New Zealand was Hastings accountant Harold Carr.
A client of his was Land & Heighway, originally a saddlery business, which was situated on the corner of Heretaunga St West and Market St South. Like hundreds of other buildings, it was destroyed in the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake.
Their building had two titles of 32 feet (9.75m) shop frontage each.
Simeon Heighway thought only one of the titles would be necessary for the rebuild of his business, and Carr suggested to him in 1933 an approach be made to Woolworths to come to Hastings.
Woolworths, which by 1933 had nine stores in New Zealand, expressed an interest and sent a representative to Hastings to measure foot traffic outside the proposed building – which was found to be satisfactory.
An application was made to the Rehabilitation Committee – a government organisation set up after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake to fund the re-establishment of business premises, to finance a building for Land and Heighway and for Woolworths.
Hastings accountant Harold Carr, who was instrumental in bringing Woolworths to Hastings 90 years ago, and the next year the formation of J Wattie Canneries Limited. Photo / Dr Diane Hebley
However, while the application for Land & Heighway was successful – not so for the Woolworths’ store.
Carr, undeterred, appealed directly to the government finance minister, Joseph Gordon Coates – asking the question of him ‒ “As a financier, what would you do?”
This thought-provoking approach worked – and Coates quickly instructed the committee to provide loan finance for Woolworths. There was however a shortfall, but this was met by Woolworths.
(Carr, together with his friend James, would introduce another business in Hastings in 1934 called J Wattie Canneries and simply known today as our very famous Hastings-proud “Wattie’s”.)
Woolworths proudly announced it was coming to Hastings in November 1933, and outlayed – in today’s terms – its company philosophy of being a good, corporate citizen. This included only employing staff in the town in which its stores operated and paying above the pay rates of the Shop Assistants’ Award.
Its turnover was made up of 93 per cent of goods from the British Empire, with preference first given to New Zealand-made goods.
On December 9, 1933, almost 90 years ago, the 6600 square feet floor space (613m2) building opened at 116 Heretaunga St West - now the site of the vacant Dollarama store used by Julian Batchelor’s Stop Co-Governance Tour last week.
The building was designed by Edmund Anscombe, and all counters (polished maple) and shop fittings were made locally.
An innovation in the new Woolworths building was the provision of an early form of air conditioning, which contained 12 air-vents that could be directly opened to the roof. Electric fans were also installed “should the occasion arise at least a dozen fans can be brought into operation to create a cool atmosphere”.
Thirty Hastings girls were employed, and I would assume due to the generous wages, competition for a job at “Woollies” would have been fierce.
A full-page advert was taken out in the newspaper announcing the opening, listing items such as Blackballs (lollies) for three pence (62 cents) a pound (.45kg), socks, toothpaste, tobacco, Eno’s “fruit salt”, tablecloths and romance and detective novels.
The ad said Woolworths was as part of the community as locally-owned Roach’s or Westerman’s – two other large department stores in Hastings. They encouraged the girls to take part in sports in Woolworths teams, held company dances and entered the Blossom Festivals with floats for many years.
Woolworths moved to another building in the same Heretaunga St West block around the 1950s, and then when the old Hastings Hotel was demolished in 1969, a large store was built for them which part of is now occupied by Paper Plus.
L D Nathan, who became owners of Woolworths in 1979, purchased another large chain, McKenzies in 1980, rebranding them as Woolworths. In October 1988, the general merchandise stores were rebranded as Deka, and operated in Hastings from the Woolworths store site (it closed in 2001).
The first Woolworths supermarket to be opened in New Zealand was actually in Hastings, and came to the corner of Market St and Avenue Rd in December 1965.
Hastings Mayor Ron Giorgi opened the supermarket before hundreds of people waiting outside were let in. Staff were said to be swamped as the public jostled for position to secure a bargain price on a line of TV tables.
Almost 30 years later, this Woolworths supermarket closed and was replaced by Spotlight, which still occupies this building.
In July 2023, it was announced by the Woolworths Group that its 194 Countdown supermarkets in New Zealand would be rebranded as Woolworths from early 2024, although signage changes would begin later this year.
