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Georges (store)

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Georges of Collins Street
Company typeDepartment Store
IndustryRetail
Founded1880; 144 years ago (1880)
Defunct1995; 29 years ago (1995)
FateAcquired by David Jones
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Products
  • clothing
  • manchester
  • leather goods
  • soft furnishings
  • furniture
  • hardware
  • food
Websitehttp://www.georgesoncollins.com.au/

Georges was a department store in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, established in 1880 and closed in 1995.[1]

Georges Store began as George & George's Federal Emporium, founded by brothers William and Alfred George, in 1880, moving in 1883 to a large four storey building at 280 Collins Street (originally 11-17 Collins Street East, which had been built in 1877 as Briscoe’s warehouse[2][3]). In 1888 they amalgamated with the Equitable Co-operative Store, located in a grand classical revival style building at 162-168 Collins Street (originally 89 Collins Street East) built in 1884, and designed by architects John Grainger and Charles D'Ebro. In September 1889 a disastrous fire destroyed their 280 Collins premises (which was then replaced by the first stage of the Block Arcade), after which they simply rebranded the 162-168 Collins Street location.[4] In 1891 the building was refurbished and extended through to Little Collins Street, designed by D'Ebro alone.[5][6]

There were two smaller Georges' branches: The Jam Factory on Chapel Street, South Yarra, and the other on Burke Road, Camberwell.

Georges had a reputation for superior quality equal to that enjoyed by Harrods or Fortnum & Mason of London, and Bergdorf Goodman of New York.[7] The store's motto was Quod facimus, Valde facimus (What we do, We do well), as the firm had a philosophy of providing exclusive goods and meticulous service. The stores' staff handbook instructed employees to avoid high pressure sales techniques. Author and customer Annette Cooper states that Georges: "wanted to foster loyalty, and if they made you feel good about coming into the store you would come back."[8]

The firm was taken over by retail holding company Cox Brothers in November 1960 through the purchase of all the ordinary paid up capital in Georges Holding Limited[9]. Cox Brothers began to incur loses in 1962/63[9] and went into receivership in 1966. Georges was listed (again) as a new company on the Melbourne Stock Exchange as Georges Australia Limited[10].

In January, 1970, Georges launched a successful takeover bid of Ball & Welch in a deal valued at $A1.48 million dollars[11], [12]. The directors of Georges believed that Ball & Welch stores would give Georges a foothold in the suburbs[11]. Instead, Georges closed all of the Ball & Welch stores by 1976 selling the flagship Flinders Street store in May, 1976[13].

David Jones then took over Georges in 1981.The store finally closed on 5th October 1995.[14],[15]

Georges building in 2018

A family anecdote

George's remains such a well remembered part of Melbourne's history that the Powne family holds this personal connection to this day. William Powne was a migrant from Cornwall, who initially had a drapery business in Ballarat named Powne and Cray, and later worked for the George brothers when the store was still the Federal Emporium. In 1886, Powne gave notice that he would be leaving to start a drapery business in Clarendon Street, Melbourne. As a mark of esteem for Powne, the George brothers gave Powne a purse of sovereigns 'as a token of their respect and goodwill'. This kind act was perhaps so unusual, and the company so prominent, that it was reported in The Age on 14 September 1886.[16]

These sovereigns have been passed down through William Powne’s children and beyond and in 2020 still continues, with the success story of George and George being front and centre.

References

  1. ^ eMelbourne Encyclopedia, Blog, 'Georges'
  2. ^ "A NEW ENTERPRISE". Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 11 September 1883. p. 6. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  3. ^ "THE NEW WAREHOUSES OF MESSRS. BRISCOE AND CO., COLLINS—STREET EAST". Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil (Melbourne, Vic. : 1873 - 1889). 1 September 1877. p. 93. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  4. ^ "MESSRS. GEORGE AND GEORGE'S PREMISES". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 13, 516. Victoria, Australia. 17 October 1889. p. 8. Retrieved 15 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "OPENING OF GEORGE AND GEORGES NEW BUILDINGS". 22 September 1891. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ^ author., Cooper, Annette,. Remembering Georges : stories from Melbourne's most elegant store. ISBN 978-1-922129-46-8. OCLC 880138550. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "The Store on the Hill by Keith Dunstan". Dog Eared Books. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Georges on Collins department store remembered for elegance". ABC News. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b Consultancy, Archive Research. "Cox Brothers (Australia) Limited - Corporate entry - Guide to Australian Business Records". www.gabr.net.au. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  10. ^ Consultancy, Archive Research. "Cox Brothers (Australia) Limited - Corporate entry - Guide to Australian Business Records". www.gabr.net.au. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Georges offers $1½m for Ball and Welch". Canberra Times. 23 January 1970. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  12. ^ "SHARP RISE IN GEORGES SHARE PRICE". Canberra Times. 11 November 1971. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Goodyear loses $4.5m in 1975". Canberra Times. 1 June 1976. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  14. ^ Dunstan, Keith, The store on the hill, Macmillan Publishers, Melbourne, 1979
  15. ^ author., Cooper, Annette,. Remembering Georges : stories from Melbourne's most elegant store. ISBN 978-1-922129-46-8. OCLC 880138550. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "ALLEGED BIGAMY". The Age. 14 September 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
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