Our History

Kirkcaldie & Stains Limited was established in 1863 by John Kirkcaldie, a Scotsman who had served his apprenticeship as a draper, and Robert Stains, an Englishman who had worked in the retail trade in London.The two enterprising young men had met in Sydney and had come to the settlement of Wellington, which seemed to offer the best prospects for business. Each had a capital of £350, which they pooled, and they opened their first store on Lambton Quay on a site which is now occupied by the historic Bank of New Zealand building. Their small store was built from the timbers of a wrecked ship. The business thrived having been founded on the principles of selling quality merchandise at a price that gave good value and service.

As the business grew a new store was built in the same location and Kirkcaldie & Stains opened in Waterloo House, a two-storied building, in 1864. The flourishing business again outgrew its home and in 1868 larger premises were built on reclaimed land at the corner of Lambton Quay and Brandon Street, part of the present location of the store.

A branch of the company was operated from premises at the corner of Ghuznee and Cuba Streets from 1871 until 1876, and Kirkcaldies also had a branch in Napier from 1897 until 1917. Since then the company has been a single store operation based on Lambton Quay. Further adjoining premises were acquired and the store was expanded with new stores built on the existing site in 1897 and then again in 1908. The 1908 building was surrounded by the facade, which is still the hallmark of the company today. Robert Stains had returned to England in 1886 and the partnership was dissolved. The Kirkcaldie family ran the company until the great depression of the 1930's. In 1931 a controlling interest in Kirkcaldie & Stains was acquired by British Overseas Stores, a London based organisation that owned retailers throughout the world.
The company experienced many highs and lows during more than 50 years of primarily British ownership including the celebration of its centenary in 1963. Consideration was given to opening other branches during the urban expansion of the 1960's and 1970's as many other New Zealand department stores opened outlets in the new suburban malls. However Kirkcaldies remained committed to the single site in the heart of the Wellington business district.

In 1985 all of the shares in the company were purchased by the Renouf Corporation, later to be known as Hellaby Holdings. Renouf bought the company with a view to redeveloping the valuable site Kirkcaldies occupied. The redevelopment commenced in 1986 with the southern half of the building being demolished and an office tower was built above the new store. The other half of the building was completed in October 1989 and the new store received a "Significant Achievement Award" from the Wellington Chamber of Commerce as well as being voted "Top Shop" by the Wellington public.

The current building forms three floors of retail store, two car-parking floors and has two 14-storey office towers above. The historic facade of the original building was retained and refurbished during the rebuilding. The company traded throughout the redevelopment by relocating some departments to other premises around the area. In 1994 Hellaby Holdings announced its intention to return Kirkcaldie & Stains' ownership to the hands of Wellingtonians.

Kirkcaldies became a public company in 1995 when shares were sold to customers and staff of the store in a public float. Between 1995 and 1998 Hellaby's progressively sold down their shareholding in the company and in 1999 completed their exit by selling all of their remaining shares.Kirkcaldie & Stains remains a public company today with about 1,600 shareholders, the vast majority of whom are Wellingtonians. The biggest shareholders are the customers and employees of Kirkcaldies.
 

John Kirkcaldie                 Robert Stains
 

The Store pictured in 1909
 

Our Company, Our Purpose

Kirkcaldie & Stains is a traditional department store offering its customers broad and interesting assortments of competitively priced quality merchandise in a unique and exciting environment with the highest level of personal customer service.But Kirkcaldies is more than that - it is:

• A Wellington institution admired by a large proportion of the local and more wide spread population,
• An icon of the New Zealand retail industry, renowned for its consistent standards of excellence,
• A special store that provides an indefinable mix of excitement and dignity,
• A company with unquestionable integrity in its approach to all of its actions and activities,
• A company that recognises and supports the community of which it forms part.Kirkcaldie & Stains is unique; it is a special place with a singularly distinctive character that blends the best of Wellington's past with all that is desirable today.

The primary objective of the company is to provide the public of Wellington for and beyond the next decade, a retail institution in which the public can feel a true sense of pride, respect and affection.

The mission of all employees of Kirkcaldie & Stains is to ensure that future generations of Wellingtonians have the opportunity to share the special relationship with Kirkcaldies that has been experienced by past generations and is enjoyed by current customers.
The legacy left to us by former employees is immense and precious. Our challenge is to enhance that legacy for our successors.