Merivale (company)
Industry | Retail Hospitality |
---|---|
Founded | 1957 |
Founders | John & Merivale Hemmes |
Headquarters | , Australia |
Key people | Justin Hemmes (CEO) |
Services | Nightclubs Pubs Restaurants |
Number of employees | ~2,500 (2015) |
Website | Official website |
Merivale is an Australian company. It was founded in 1957 in Sydney by John and Merivale Hemmes, initially as a millinery in Sydney's Boulevard Arcade, later expanding into clothing. In 1959, the first House of Merivale fashion store was established in the Theatre Royal in Castlereagh Street. It expanded into a successful and influential high-fashion chain with three stores in Pitt Street, two in Melbourne and one in Canberra.[1] Merivale diversified into both hospitality and property interests, acquiring the Angel Hotel building in Pitt Street, which included a restaurant that reopened as a boutique, and was the first item in a substantial property portfolio.[2]
It expanded further into hospitality in the early 1990s with the Merivale restaurant in Potts Point, as it began winding down its fashion interests, closing the last fashion outlet in 1996.[2][3]
John and Merivale Hemmes' son, Justin, took over the business in the mid-1990s and aggressively diversified into hospitality, operating more than 50 nightclubs, pubs and restaurants, primarily in Sydney, by 2015.[2][4][5] Notable assets include Hotel CBD,[6] the Newport Arms Hotel[7] and the Slip Inn.[8]
References
- ^ Husband, Wife Fashion Team Canberra Times 5 December 1975 page 15
- ^ a b c John Hemmes obituary: Merivale Group founder and hospitality legend with sharp eye for fashion and restaurants Sydney Morning Herald 6 March 2015
- ^ The Merivale effect: an insight into Sydney’s hospitality empire Hospitality Magazine 30 November 2015
- ^ Our Story Merivale
- ^ Sydney hospitality heavyweight Justin Hemmes calm at centre of Merivale expansion Good Food 6 October 2015
- ^ Hotel CBD Merivale
- ^ How Justin Hemmes snapped up the Newport Arms Hotel in dramatic late night $50m deal Daily Telegraph 18 March 2015
- ^ Slip Inn Merivale
External links