Wesfarmers : Area served Australia India Ireland New Zealand
Wesfarmers was founded in 1914 as a co-operative to provide services and merchandise to Western Australian farmers. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1984 and grew into a major retail conglomerate.
Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue of A$30.8 billion in the 2020 financial year, it is one of Australia's largest companies by revenue. Wesfarmers is also one of the largest private employers in Australia, with approximately 107,000 employees.
Wesfarmers foundation business, was sold to AWB Limited (originally the Australia Wheat Board) in August 2003.
An initial investment in 10 percent of Bunnings in February 1987 reached full ownership in January 1994. Bunnings bought UK retailer Homebase in February 2016 and Britain's first Bunnings store opened twelve months later in February 2017. They were 265 well-located stores and Wesfarmers believed Bunnings' management would greatly improve their modest profits. The plan was to make changes gently but tactics changed and local management, perceived as under-performing, was removed and replaced by expatriate management. The expatriate management's changes alienated the existing customer base and, aided by a poor retailing climate, brought a rapid decline into losses. A strategic review by Wesfarmers resulted in the May 2018 sale of the Homebase business to Hilco Capital at a loss of A$1.96 billion.
Australian Railroad Group
Australian Railroad Group began a joint venture with Genesee & Wyoming by the purchase of Westrail at the beginning of 2000. It was sold in 2006 to Babcock & Brown and Queensland Rail.
End of co-operative ownership
In 2001, Wesfarmers became a freely-traded publicly listed company with open ownership. After becoming a public company, Wesfarmers diversified its interests by acquiring other businesses. Such as Bunnings Group:
Bunnings Warehouse, Bunnings, Bunnings Trade, Tool Kit Depot, Beaumont Tiles
Kmart Group:
Kmart, Target
Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers:
CSBP, CSBP Ammonia, Ammonium Nitrate and Industrial Chemicals ,CSBP Fertilisers, Australian Vinyls, Australian Gold Reagents (75%), Queensland Nitrates (50%), Evol LNG, Kleenheat, Covalent Lithium (50%)
Officeworks:
Officeworks, Geeks2U
Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety:
Blackwoods, NZ Safety Blackwoods, Coregas, Workwear Group
Health: Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy , Clear Skincare, Soul Pattinson Chemist, Club Premium, Pharmacist Advice, Pharmacy Best Buys
Wesfarmers OneDigital: OnePass , Catch.com.au , OneData
Other:
flybuys (50%), BWP Trust (25%), Gresham Partners (50%), Wespine Industries (50%)
2014 Perth, W.A. ISBN 9781742584997.
