Wesfarmers

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Wesfarmers Limited
Public
Traded as ASX: WES
Industry Conglomerate
Founded 1914
Headquarters 40 The Esplanade
Perth, Western Australia
Area served
 Australia
Bangladesh
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Key people
 Michael Chaney, Chairman
Richard Goyder, CEO
Revenue Increase A$62.45 billion (2015)
Increase A$3.76 billion (2015)
Profit Increase A$2.44 billion (2015)
Total assets A$40.40 billion (2015)
Total equity A$24.78 billion (2015)
Number of employees
 205,000
Subsidiaries Bunnings Warehouse, Coles Supermarkets, Bi-Lo, Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket, Coles Express, Coles Central, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars, 1st Choice Liquor Superstore, Officeworks, Officeworks BusinessDirect, Harris Technology, Kmart, Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, Target, Curragh Queensland Mining, Bengalla Mining Company*, Koukia*, Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, Bakers, Total Fasteners, Bullivants, Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety NZ, CSBP, PB Workwear, Australian Gold Reagents*, Kleenheat Gas, Unigas*, Kleenheat Elpiji, Wesfarmers LPG, Coregas, Gresham Partners Group*, Wespine Industries*
* Joint ventures
Website www.wesfarmers.com.au
Footnotes / references
[1]

Wesfarmers Limited is one of Australia's largest public companies and one of Australia's largest retailers.[2] Its headquarters are in Perth, Western Australia.

Wesfarmers is the largest private employer in Australia, with approximately 205,000 employees across the country.[1] Official records announced a record net profit of $1.05 billion for 2006 with operating costs of $8.9 billion (prior to the Coles Group takeover).

On 2 July 2007, Wesfarmers announced it was purchasing the Coles Group retail business for A$22 billion making it the largest successful take-over in Australian corporate history.[3] Wesfarmers officially took control of Coles on 23 November 2007, after paying almost A$20 billion for the company.

History

The company was founded on 27 June 1914 as the Westralian Farmers Co-operative, which focused on the provision of services and merchandise to the Western Australian rural community.[4]

It was involved in the operations of the Cooperative Wheat Pool of Western Australia.

In 1924, it established the first public radio station in Western Australia with 6WF before it passed into the hands of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1929.

By the 1940s the company's work included "being wheat and general merchants; country distribution for Commonwealth Oil Refineries Ltd; wool, live stock, skin and produce auctioneers; grain & fruit exporters; insurance underwriters; acquiring agents for the wheat pool of W.A." Known as Westralian Farmers Limited, it had premises in various locations within the Perth central business district. In the 1940s there were premises at 563-571 Wellington Street. They also had premises at Newman Street in Fremantle.

In 1991, 19 m³ of the records of the Westralian Farmers Co-operative were deposited with the J S Battye Library in Perth.

The company changed its name to Wesfarmers Limited in 1984, coinciding with its restructuring from a co-operative to a public company when it was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Divisions

Since becoming a public company, Wesfarmers has diversified its interests by acquiring other companies.

Coles

Coles is a national supermarket, liquor, fuel and convenience retailer in Australia. As of September 2013, Coles operates 756 full-service supermarkets, 810 liquor outlets, 92 hotels, and 636 fuel and convenience stores. Coles employs more than 105,000 staff.[5] Coles' businesses include Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Coles Express, Vintage Cellars, 1st Choice Liquor Superstore, BI-LO and Liquorland.

Home Improvement and Office Supplies

This division is made up of Bunnings Warehouse, a retailer of home improvement and outdoor living products, servicing home and commercial customers in Australia and New Zealand, and Officeworks, a retailer and supplier of office products for home, business and education in Australia. There are 210 Bunnings "warehouse" (larger) stores, 67 Bunnings small format stores, 36 Bunnings Trade centres and 150 Officeworks stores. Bunnings employs more than 33,000 staff and Officeworks employs more than 6,000 staff.[5]

Kmart

Kmart is a discount department store retailer in Australia and New Zealand, and a provider of retail automotive services, repairs and tyres in Australia. Kmart has 190 Kmart stores and 263 Kmart Tyre & Auto Service centres. Kmart employs more than 31,000 staff.[5]

Target

Target is a department store retailer in Australia. Target has 183 Target stores and 125 Target Country stores. Target employs more than 24,000 staff.[5] In 2014, Wesfarmers was forced to write-down the value of Target by $680 million because of a fall in the company's profits.[6]

Industrials

In August 2015, Wesfarmers announced an organisational restructure to cluster its three industrial businesses, Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers (WesCEF); Resources; and Industrial and Safety (WIS) into a single, new Industrials division.[7]

Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers

Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers (WesCEF) produces and markets chemicals, fertilisers and gas products. WesCEF has ammonia and ammonium nitrate production facilities in Western Australia, 50% of QNP ammonium nitrate production facilities in Queensland, sodium cyanide production facilities in Western Australia, PVC resin and specialty chemicals production facilities in Victoria, LPG and LNG distribution across Australia with LPG and LNG production facilities in Western Australia and fertiliser production and importation facilities in Western Australia. WesCEF employs more than 1,500 staff.[5] WesCEF businesses include CSBP, Australian Vinyls, AGR, QNP, Evol LNG, Kleenheat Gas and Modwood.

Resources

Wesfarmers Resources owns and operates world-scale open-cut coal producing resources in Australia, and has Curragh in Queensland which produces metallurgical coal for export and steaming coal for domestic power generation and 40% of Bengalla in New South Wales, which is operated by Coal & Allied and produces export steaming coal for Asia. Wesfarmers Resources employs more than 650 staff.[5]

Industrial and Safety

Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety provides industrial and safety products and services in Australia and New Zealand. On 1 December 2014, Wesfamers Industrial and Safety completed the acquisition of the Workwear Group of Pacific Brands Limited.[8] Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety businesses include Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, NZ Safety, Bullivants, Coregas, Blackwoods Protector, Safety Source, Total Fasteners, Packaging House, King Gee, Hard Yakka, Stubbies and GotStock.

Other activities

Wesfarmers has a 50% interest in investment house Gresham Partners plus interests in Gresham Private Equity Funds, 50% interest in Wespine, a plantation softwood sawmill at Dardanup, Western Australia and a 24% interest in BWP Trust which mainly owns Bunnings Warehouses tenanted by Bunnings Group Limited.[5]

Other businesses

Wesfarmers has 100% interest in many other subsidiaries across Australia, New Zealand, India, New Caledonia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Bermuda and Singapore. These include BBC Hardware, Coles Ansett Travel, Coles Group Superannuation Fund, Coles Property Management, Comnet, Fosseys, GJ Coles & Coy, Grocery Holdings Pty Ltd, Harris Technology, Howard Smith, Katies Fashions, Loyalty Pacific, Masters Home Improvement New Zealand, Morley Shopping Centre, now.com.au, Theo's Liquor, Tooronga Shopping Centre, Tyremaster, Viking Direct and World 4 Kids.[5]

Former interests

Insurance

On 16 June 2014, Wesfarmers completed the sale of its insurance broking and premium funding operations, including OAMPS Insurance Brokers in Australia, OAMPS UK, Crombie Lockwood in New Zealand, Lumley Finance and Monument Premium Financing to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.[9] On 30 June 2014, Wesfarmers completed the sale of its insurance underwriting operations, including the WFI and Lumley brands, to Insurance Australia Group Ltd.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ See Western Australian Farmers Federation for the relationship between the Co-operative and the CBH Group in its early history
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ "Big shakeout for Wesfarmers", Financial Review, 3 July 2014. Accessed 16 June 2015
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • Smith, Kevin P.(1984) A bunch of pirates: the story of a farmer co-operative: Wesfarmers Perth, W.A : Westralian Farmers Co-operative. ISBN 0-9591897-0-X
  • (2003) 50 years of powering Western Australia : from Western Colleries to Wesfarmers Coal. Collie, W.A.: Wesfarmers Premier Coal.
  • Thompson, Peter (2014) Wesfarmers 100: The People's Story 1914-2014 Perth, W.A. ISBN 9781742584997

External links

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