Guthrie Bowron is a franchise of New Zealand home improvement stores established in 1896. ^{[1] [2]} It sells a range of home decorating supplies, including paint, wallpaper, flooring, curtains and blinds. ^[1]

There are 51 Guthrie Bowron stores around New Zealand, including five in Auckland. ^[1]

History

Private company (1896-1963)

The Guthrie Brown company was established in 1896 in Dunedin man Henry Guthrie. George Bowron later came on as a business partner, and the pair travelled around the South Island selling a range of products. ^[3]

In the mid-1920s, the company started importing what were the base ingredients for paint at the time: lacquer, varnish, lead and linseed oil. ^[3]

In 1932, the company became an agent for Dulux Paints; it opened a wallpaper store in Christchurch a short time later. ^[3]

Public company (1963-1971)

Guthrie Bowron became a publicly listed company in 1963. ^[3]

By 1969, it had 18 branches around the country selling a range of paint and wallpaper. ^[3]

Dulux Paints ownership (1971-1992)

In 1971, Guthrie Bowrown was purchased by ICI NZ, the owner and manufacturer of Dulux Paints. ^[3]

The Masterton franchisee opened in 1973. ^[2] The Waitara, Taranaki store opened as Bedfords Colour Centre about the same time, before becoming a Guthrie Bowron store 49 years later. ^[4]

In 1985, the brand had 34 outlets. ^[3]

Management ownership (1992-2005)

A group of senior managers took over the company in 1992. ^[3]

There were 50 Guthrie Bowron stores in 1999. ^[5]

Waterman Capital (2005-2014)

Private equity firm Waterman Private Capital acquired the paint store brand in May 2005. ^{[6] [7]} It relaunched the brand to incorporate other forms of home decorating, such as curtains, blinds and flooring. ^[8] The franchise otherwise continued as normal. ^[9]

Guthrie Bowron recorded an 8% increase in wallpaper sales between 2011 and 2012, and a 18% increase between 2012 and 2013. The company said wallpaper was becoming a fashion item, and many home decorators were using it to create a feature wall rather than using throughout the entire room. ^[10]

Waterman trialed a new format in 2012, with a flagship company store at Sylvia Park in Mount Wellington, Auckland. ^[11]

Management ownership (2014-)

Waterman sold Guthrie Bowron through another management buy-out in 2014. ^{[8] [11]}

In 2015, many franchises had been operating for two decades and the business model was profitable. ^[2]

In 2016, Guthrie Bowron had 42 stores. ^[12]

In February 2017, some franchisors told the National Business Review they were concerned about the recent closures of new format stores in Sylvia Park, Silverdale, Auckland and Christchurch. ^[11] A unspecified number of franchisors called for greater mandatory disclosure provisions. ^[13]

Guthrie Bowron stores were required to close during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand in 2020. The Timaru store reported being very busy when it reopened in late April. ^[14] The store in Te Awamutu reported being "busy as" as in July, despite the local Bunnings and Warehouse Stationery stores closing due to falling revenue. ^[15]

Global supply chain shortages affected Guthrie Bowron stores in 2021, including manufacturers not being able to source raw materials. ^[16]

Guthrie Bowron came second to Resene in the painting and home decorating category of the Reader's Digest customer service survey in 2021. ^[17] It ranked first in the home furnishing category of the Canstar Blue customer satisfaction award in 2021; ^[18] it came seventh in the same category in 2022. ^[19]

Sponsorships

Guthrie Bowron stores have sponsored several public projects, including:

• the renovation of Nelson Rowing Club in 2020. ^[20]

• a mural in Blenheim's Wairau Hospital paediatric ward in 2020. ^[21]

• the revamp of the Whangārei Art Museum in 2021. ^[22]

• a community project to remove graffiti from Te Kowhai township in 2022. ^[23]

References

External links

• Official website