 | |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
Number of locations | 61 stores, 47 in Australia [1] and 14 in New Zealand [2] (2023) |
Area served | Australia, New Zealand |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 1000+ |
| Parent | Greenlit Brands |
| Website | www www |
Freedom is a furniture and homewares retail chain in Australia and New Zealand. [3] It is owned and operated by Greenlit Brands. [4]
Freedom was founded in 1981 in Sydney by Warren Higgs. [5] Its first Melbourne store opened in 1984. [6] Freedom was purchased by investment company Jamison Equity in July 1991. [7]
In 1996, Freedom went public on the Australian Securities Exchange. [8] The same year, it expanded to New Zealand through local franchisee Farmers Deka. [7] [9]
In April 1999, Freedom acquired the Guests and Andersons furniture chains for $22.4 million in cash and stock. [10] In 2000, it acquired bedding company Capt'n Snooze. [11] In 2002, the company acquired the Bayswiss homewares chain. [12]
In 2003, Freedom was bought out and taken private by management in a deal backed by Steinhoff International, the company's supplier and largest shareholder. [13] [14]
In 2004, Freedom entered the UK market through a management and supply agreement with Cargo Homeshop, a furniture and homewares with 36 stores at the time. The deal gave Freedom management control over the retailer, with the option to purchase it outright in the future. Freedom also planned to alter the retailer's product range and introduce Freedom products. [15] [16]
The New Zealand arm had 13 stores by 2008. [17] and 15 stores by 2009. [18] In 2023 Freedom saw the closure of two New Zealand stores; Palmerston North and Taupō. Leaving 12 remaining stores around New Zealand including five in Auckland. [19]
Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian multinational retail and finance company, primarily known for the operation of its retail chain Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia, Woolworths in New Zealand and its discount department store Big W. Headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, it is the largest company in Australia by revenue and number of employees, and the second-largest in New Zealand.
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Temple & Webster is an Australian homewares and furniture retailer. The brand was founded in 2011, and listed on the ASX as Temple & Webster Group (TPW) in December 2015. The float followed the acquisition of two other businesses, the Australian operation of Wayfair and Milan Direct. In 2022, the company launched The Build, an online store for home improvement products.
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