Mitre 10

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Mitre 10 Australia Pty Ltd
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail/Trade Building supplies
GenreHardware
Founded1959
FounderTom Molomby
Tom Danaher
Reg Buchanan
Jack Womersley
Ian Nisbet
Bill Davey
Bill Wilson
Headquarters Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Number of locations
353 (2018)
Area served
Australia
Key people
Annette Welsh, CEO
ProductsTimber
Hardware
Housewares
Retail/Trade Plumbing
Farm fencing products
Trade Electrical supplies
Hand and Power Tools
Kitchen and Bathroom
Paint
Garden and Outdoor products
ServicesPainting, Tool Sharpening, Pool Water Testing, DIY Workshops
RevenueIncrease2.svg A$1.06 billion (2009) [1]
Increase2.svg A$371.6 million (2009)[2]
Number of employees
16,500 [2]
Parent Metcash
Subsidiaries Design 10
Home Hardware (Australia)
Plants Plus
Thrifty-Link Hardware
Website www.mitre10.com.au

Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights. The chain name references the mitre joint. [3] There are over 400 "Mitre 10" and its associated "True Value Hardware" franchises throughout Australia.

Contents

History

Mitre 10 Solutions store with the older Mitre 10 logo in Wagga Wagga Crazy Jim's Mitre 10.jpg
Mitre 10 Solutions store with the older Mitre 10 logo in Wagga Wagga
Mitre 10 store with the current Mitre 10 branding in Dubbo Dubbo-Brennansv2-6250.jpg
Mitre 10 store with the current Mitre 10 branding in Dubbo
Mitre 10 Mega and Trade Centre Pakenham PknMitre10MEGAstorefront1.JPG
Mitre 10 Mega and Trade Centre Pakenham

The move to set up a co-operative group of hardware stores originated from a meeting of seven men who would become Mitre 10's founders – Tom Molomby, Tom Danaher, Reg Buchanan, Jack Womersley, Ian Nisbet, Bill Davey and Bill Wilson – held at Buchanan's home in Balwyn, Victoria, on 29 June 1959. [4] This move occurred specifically to maximise funds and energy with regards to advertising and promotions and to demonstrate that independent operators offered service, advice and competitive prices. [3]

The new company soon expanded operations, with fifteen New South Wales members joining the group by February 1961. Queensland soon followed with seven retailers, under the chairmanship of Arthur Scurr, joining the cooperative in January 1962, followed by a further 16 members from Newcastle in October the same year. With the company successfully operational in the three Eastern states of Australia by the end of 1962, South Australia and Western Australia soon started running their own state-based co-operatives, and attention turned to Tasmania. [5]

In June 2004 Mitre 10 Australia opened its first "destination hardware" or "big-box" chain at Beenleigh, Queensland. [6]

In late 2008 Woolworths and Mitre 10 Australia held talks on the potential acquisition of the company. The Australian Financial Review reported that Mitre 10 Australia had held talks with other companies since beginning to find a major buyer or investor, although in early 2009 Woolworths decided the company structure was too complex for a takeover. Mitre 10 Australia was believed to be in talks with Metcash. UBS analysts said Metcash had been on lookout for a "fourth pillar" for some time to add to its operations, and that Mitre 10 might be perfect. [7]

In late 2009 Mitre 10 Australia announced that they were searching for a major investment or buyer. In November 2009, Metcash released a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange with a proposal for Metcash to take 50.1% in the Mitre 10 Hardware Group for A$55 million cash injection. The deal proposed giving Metcash the right to buy the remaining 49.9% in the company at the end of 2012 or 2013. [8] In March 2010 98% of Mitre 10 Australia shareholders voted in favour of the Metcash bid. [9] Metcash acquired the rest of Mitre 10 in 2012. [10]

Store types

Mega was Mitre 10's "destination hardware," or "big-box," chain; it was designed as a one stop shop for big projects, to compete with Bunnings. The main focus of the Mega was customer service, it marketed itself as "All the help you need", stores have customer service attendants stationed in different departments of the store i.e., plumbing, trade building supplies (timber), paint, the majority of these have a trade qualification. [11] Mitre 10 Australia opened its first Mega in June 2004 at Beenleigh, Queensland. [6]

In 2007, seven Mega stores operated across Australia: one in Queensland, one in South Australia and five in Victoria. Mitre 10 Australia originally had planned to have 50 Mega stores open, or have store owners renovate from other store types, across the country in metropolitan and regional hubs by the end of 2009. [12] As of August 2009, three stores had closed. The Ringwood, Victoria store closed due to financial difficulty, with the store employing over 130 people, [13] while the Campbellfield, Victoria store was closed in March 2009 due to the building having structural problems, the store employed 54 people, with the closure staff were redeployed to other stores. [14] The Modbury, South Australia Mega store was bought by Wesfarmers' Bunnings in January 2007, the store employed 100 people. [15] [16] Hardy's Mitre 10 Mega in Pakenham, Victoria being the only store redeveloped from a smaller Mitre 10 Home and Trade store, still trading, with plans to expand. As of 2021, that store has become a Bunnings. [17] The Mega store in Lilydale, Victoria closed in late 2009, being the last Mitre 10 Australia corporate store. The first Mitre 10 Mega store to open, in Beenleigh, Queensland, is still trading and operational as of 2020.

Mitre 10 stores are painted in the traditional blue and white livery. As Mitre 10 stores are all privately owned, operators have the option of adding concepts to their store, such as a dedicated "GardenCentre" or "TradeCentre".

Sponsorships

From 1995 until 2000, Mitre 10 was naming rights sponsor of Larkham Motorsport. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ Mitre 10 Australia's revenue increased Archived 12 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Mitre 10 Australia Ltd - Profile Report 09/10". Ibisworld.com.au. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Mitre 10 History - Superbrands Australia". Superbrands-brands.com. 20 June 1974. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Company History". Mitre 10. Retrieved 30 August 2015. It was on 29 June 1959, that our founding fathers met in Reg Buchanan's home in Balwyn, Victoria, where they made the historic decision to form a hardware/building supplier group
  5. ↑ "Mitre 10 Australia opens Chelsea Heights MEGA". Hardwarejournal.com.au. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  6. 1 2 Speedy, Blair. "Mitre 10 nails down its mega battle with Bunnings ", The Australian , 17 SEP 2004. Retrieved on 28 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "Metcash a potential suitor for Mitre 10?". Insideretailing.com.au. 19 September 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  8. ↑ Metcash proposes to become champion of the independent hardware retailer Metcash 27 November 2009
  9. ↑ Mitre 10 shareholders vote in favour of acquisition of 50.1% by Metcash Metcash 13 March 2010
  10. ↑ Metcash completes Mitre 10 takeover ABC News 31 July 2012
  11. ↑ "15% Mitre 10 staff are tradies". Hardwarejournal.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  12. ↑ Mitre 10 Selects Pronto Software for ERP Solution for New MEGA Stores Archived 2 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ "Mitre 10 Megastore comes to Ringwood". Maroondah Leader. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  14. ↑ Luvara, Laura (24 February 2009). "Campbellfield Mega closes doors". Hume.yourguide.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  15. ↑ Quast, James . "Modbury Job Boost", Leader Messenger , 2004-11-3. Retrieved on 28 November 2009.
  16. ↑ "Regulator reviews Bunnings acquisitions of Major Competitor". Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  17. ↑ "Mitre 10 Mega Pakenham expansions coming". Hardwarejournal.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  18. ↑ Larkham explains how close he came to signing Ambrose Speedcafe 21 June 2019

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