 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2009) |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1850 |
| Founder |
|
| Defunct | 1979 (as Moores) |
| Headquarters | , |
Bright and Hitchcocks (also known as Brights) was a department store in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, operating on the same site from 1855 to 1979. The building remains today on the south-east corner of Moorabool and Little Malop Streets in central Geelong.
The business had its origins in 1850, after three brothers, G.M., William and W.M. Hitchcock, emigrated from London to Geelong with a cargo of merchandise and opened a store in Yarra Street. In 1853, William Bright, who had a shop in Moorabool Street, formed a partnership with G.M. and W.M. Hitchcock, and the new firm traded as Bright & Co. After Bright's retirement, the Hitchcock brothers continued to trade as Bright & Hitchcocks. [1] By 1926, when the company was sold to five of its senior employees, it was the largest department store in provincial Victoria. The son of one of the founding brothers, Howard Hitchcock, was the last of the family to be involved with the store, retiring in 1927. [2]
Bright and Hitchcocks became a public company in 1950 with almost 600 shareholders. In 1959, the company was purchased by Cox Brothers, which was a major Australian retailer, operating over 100 stores. [3]
Cox Brothers ran into financial problems and went into receivership in 1966. [4] In March 1968, the store was sold to new owners, who changed the name to "Brights", the name by which the store had been known for many years previously. It was sold again, in January 1969, to Sydney-based Burns Philp and Co., who renamed the store "Mates", as part of the company's Albury, New South Wales-based department store chain. The final sale was in 1976 when Chas Moore took over the lease, changing the name again, this time to "Moores".
Moores closed in 1979, and the building was divided into a number of smaller shops at the street level. The upper floors have since been empty, but the basement was occupied by a Spotlight fabric store until 2005. The exterior of the building underwent a repaint and minor refurbishment in 2006. Part of the ground floor is now a 7-Eleven convenience store.
Geelong is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay and the left bank of Barwon River, about 65 km (40 mi) southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria.
Myer is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; connected home; furniture; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and travel goods.
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Belmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road. The suburb is part of the City of Greater Geelong local government area. At the 2011 census, Belmont had a population of 13,616.
Westfield Geelong is a shopping centre located in the Geelong CBD in Victoria, Australia which was opened in 1988. It was formerly known as Westfield Bay City before the 2008 redevelopment, and as Bay City Plaza before being acquired by the Westfield Group in 2003. The centre is located on the northern side of Malop Street opposite the Market Square shopping complex, and is bounded by Moorabool Street, Yarra Street, Malop Street and Brougham Street. The centre has completed its major redevelopment, including the expansion over Yarra Street via a flyover.
Market Square was a town square located in the centre of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Consisting of eight acres of land, the area was reserved by Governor Sir George Gipps as a town square during the initial surveying of Geelong. The area later became a produce market, before being progressively built upon. Today the Market Square Shopping Centre occupies the site, having been opened in 1985 by the City of Geelong.
Owen Owen was a Liverpool-based operator of department stores in the United Kingdom and Canada. Beginning with a drapery shop in Liverpool, a chain of department stores was built up, often by taking over rival retailers. The company remained under Owen / Norman family control until the 1980s, and the brand ceased to be used in 2007.
Army & Navy Stores was a department store group in the United Kingdom, which originated as a co-operative society for military officers and their families during the nineteenth century. The society became a limited liability company in the 1930s and purchased multiple independent department stores during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973, the Army and Navy Stores group was acquired by House of Fraser. In 2005, the remaining Army & Navy stores were refurbished and re-branded under the House of Fraser nameplate. House of Fraser itself was acquired by Icelandic investment company, Baugur Group, in late 2006, and then by Sports Direct on the 10 August 2018.
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Mark Foy's Limited or Mark Foy's was a department store in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, founded by Francis Foy and his brother Mark Foy. The department store was named after their father, Mark Foy (senior), and traded between 1885 and 1980.
Boans was a department store chain that operated in Perth, Western Australia between from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.
The Geelong Art Gallery, currently known as Geelong Gallery, is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The gallery has over 6,000 works of art in its collection. The Gallery forms Geelong's Cultural Precinct with the adjacent Geelong Library and Heritage Centre, Geelong Arts Centre, and the Geelong Courthouse.
The Geelong city centre is the urban center and main commercial locality of the Geelong metropolitan area, also referred to as the Geelong CBD, Central Geelong, the Central Activities Area, or informally simply as "Town" by locals. The name of the area is officially gazetted as Geelong.
Mount Egerton is a historic gold mining town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the mountain by the same name in the Shire of Moorabool local government area, 97 kilometres (60 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2016 census, Mount Egerton had a population of 582.
Foy & Gibson, also known as Foy's and later Cox-Foys, was one of Australia's largest and earliest department store chains. A large range of goods were manufactured and sold by the company including clothing, manchester, leather goods, soft furnishings, furniture, hardware and food.
J.B. Young Ltd was a chain of retail department stores, founded in the New South Wales country town of Queanbeyan, by businessman and country traveler James Buchanan Young in 1914.
John Myles was a politician in colonial Victoria (Australia), a member of the Victorian Legislative Council and later, the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
The wool industry emerged as one of the first significant businesses in the new colony of Australia. Its growth had a significant influence on the development of Geelong, which became a prominent hub for wool sales and exports. Geelong's strategic location and the ambitious endeavours of local merchants made it an ideal centre for shipping Australian wool worldwide. To accommodate the thriving industry, large storage facilities were constructed throughout Geelong for the handling, assessment, sale, and transportation of wool bales from Victoria and beyond.
