Hannahs
 | |
| Headquarters | , |
|---|---|
Area served | New Zealand |
| Products | Footwear |
| Website | hannahs numberoneshoes |
Hannahsis a New Zealandfootwearretail company.
Hannahs operates at 70 locations around New Zealand: 34 under its mainHannahsbrand, 16 under its low-priceNumber One Shoesbrand, and 20 as combined Number One Shoes and Hannahs stores.[1][2]
History
[edit]19th century
[edit]Irish cobbler Robert Hannah emigrated from Ireland to New Zealand, via Australia, in 1866.[3]He traveled toCharleston, New Zealandfor work, where he was forced to add an "H" to his surname after losing a coin toss with another man with the same surname.[4]
Hannah established his first store, R. Hannah & Co., inCharleston, New Zealandon 29 January 1868.[5]It produced high-quality shores for gold miners during the end of theWest Coast gold rush.[6]
Business quickly declined as gold started to run out.[7]Miners left the area and property owners abandoned their land.[8]Hannah originally planned to relocate to the United States but chose to move toWellingtoninstead.[4]
Hannah established a new shop onLambton Quayin 1870.[9]He established a three-storey shop and factory, betweenCuba Streetand Leeds Street, in 1874.[10][4]
Hannah quickly established branches around the country. In 1883, he established a store on Hastings Street inNapier.Two others followed on Heretaunga Street inHastings.[11]By 1893, Hannah has 10 shops and his factory employed more than 250 people.[9]At its peak, the factory was capable of producing 6,000 pairs of shoes a week.[4]
The company also became a major landowner, leasing commercial property on Cuba Street to other businesses.[12]
Robert's brother William took over the three Napier and Hastings store in 1897. The Napier site became a street storey store, regional office and warehouse.[11]
20th century
[edit]In addition to his shop on Leeds Street, Hannah also had two factories onLambton Quayat different times.[3][6]
During the start of theGreat Depression,Hannah reportedly put in his own orders to his factory to keep staff in employment.[12]
Robert Hannah died ofpneumoniain 1930.[11][4]At the time, he had 19 stores in the North Island and 11 in the South Island, in addition to his factory.[4]
The Napier and Hastings stores were destroyed in the1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake,[11]along with a new shipment of English shoes and other stock.[13]
Three stores at one of the Hastings stores died.[11]William Hannah was visiting his accountant at the time; the two men grabbed each other and made it out of the three-storey YMCA building they were in without injury.[13]
Robert Hannah's son brought William Hannah and his family back to the family home in Wellington.[13]William initially lived in a tent outside the house as he no longer trusted being inside a building.[11]A few years later he returned to Hawke's Bay, living in a tent while he rebuilt the business in Napier and Hastings.[13]
TheFirst Labour Governmentstarted restricting footwear imports and increasing import tariffs in 1938 to protect the local footwear industry.[9]
In 1983 theNew Brighton, ChristchurchHannahs store was one of the first retailers inCanterburyto trade on a Saturday.[7]
TheFourth Labour Governmentremoved import restrictions on footwear and began lowering in the late 1980s, leading to a sharp increase in the volume of shoes imported from China and other Asian countries. Many local shoe manufacturers closed[9]
Richard Johnson, Robert Hannah's great-great grandson,[3]has worked for Hannahs as a staff member and consultant.[6]
1990s
[edit]The site of the original Leeds Street factory was converted into residential apartments during the 1996.[12][5][4]A section of Leeds Street is now called Hannahs Laneway.[14]
Hannahs launched its own footwear brand Pulp in 1997.[4]
The company relocated its headquarters toPoriruain 1999.[4]
2000s
[edit]During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hannahs stated to stock a range of international footwear and accessory brands, includingHush Puppies,Steve Madden,Ipanema x Gisele Bundchen, Kardashian Kollection handbags,Truth or Dare by MadonnaandKeds.[4]
In 2005, Hannahs owner Hellaby Holdings purchased Number 1 Shoe Warehouse for $22 million.[15]
2010s
[edit]In 2010, there were 48 stores around New Zealand branded as Number 1 Shoe Warehouse.[16]The stores were all rebranded as Number One Shoes in 2012, as the chain shifted its focus to affordable "trendy" shoes.[17]
In 2012, theCommerce Commissionformally warned Number One Shoes for advertising children's shoes made of vinyl and less-quality leather as "full-grain leather". It was the second time the Commission had investigated the chain over its claims. The chain said it mainly sold synthetic shoes and had made a "mistake in terminology".[18]
In 2014, Number One Shoes was the largest footwear retailer in New Zealand. In November of that year, it signed its first New Zealand supply deal with Christchurchgumbootmanufacturer Sandford Industries.[19]
Hannahs and Number One Shoes went through changes of ownership in 2015 and 2017.[20][21]At the time of the 2017 sale, there were 51 Hannahs stores and 89 Number One Shoes stores, which employed hundreds of people and represented about a quarter of the New Zealand footwear market.[21]
In 2018, Hannahs marked its 150th anniversary. It had 50 stores and was the country's largest retailer of international footwear brands such asClarks,Hush PuppiesandKeds.[6]
In May 2021, an employee at the Number One Shoes store inPalmerston Northwas arrested for allegedly taking photos of co-workers and customers before performing lewd acts with their shoes the previous month.[22]Newshubreported he had allegedly posted images of up to 250 teenage girls onFacebook.[23]He pleaded guilty to two charges of offensive behaviour,[24]and was discharged without conviction.[25]
In 2021, Hannahs was starting to close its "shabby" or under-performing stores or merge stores with Number One Shoes. The chain had been losing market share to rival chainMerchant 1948,department stores and online retailers due to its conservative business model.[26]
References
[edit]- ^"Hannahs Shoes".hannahs.co.nz.Hannahs.
- ^"Number One Shoes".numberoneshoes.co.nz.Hannahs.
- ^abc"Hannah family: Collection relating to the Hannah family and R. Hannah & Co. Ltd".Department of Internal Affairs.National Library of New Zealand.
- ^abcdefghij"Back in time: Hannahs".ICG Media. The Register. 31 May 2018.
- ^ab"Hannahs celebrates 150 years".Adrenalin Publishing. NZ Business. 1 February 2018.
- ^abcd"Hannahs celebrates 150 years in business".fashionz.co.nz.FashioNZ. 13 February 2018.
- ^abSalmons, Matthew (26 April 2018)."A life in shoes, 35 years out of 150".Nine Entertainment.The Press.
- ^Carroll, Joanne (21 January 2020)."Land abandoned after West Coast gold rush on market 100 years later".stuff.co.nz.Stuff Business.
- ^abcdTolerton, Jane (11 March 2010)."Footwear".Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
- ^O'Neil, Andrea (15 September 2015)."Robert Hannah's shoe empire marches into Wellington - 150 years of news".Fairfax New Zealand.Dominion Post.
- ^abcdef"Historic Hawke's Bay: Hannahs fills big Napier boots".APN News & Media.Hawke's Bay Today.10 December 2012.
- ^abcGeorge, Damian (18 September 2016)."Historic Hannah family collection donated to Alexander Turnbull Library offers insight into Wellington business pioneer".stuff.co.nz.Dominion Post.
- ^abcdFowler, Michael (4 February 2012)."Historic Hawke's Bay: Tough road back for Hannahs".APN News & Media.Hawke's Bay Today.
- ^Marshall, Nikki (30 November 2015)."48 hours in Wellington, New Zealand: where to go, what to do".Guardian Media Group.The Guardian.
- ^"Hellaby to buy Number 1 Shoe Warehouse".NZ Herald.Retrieved28 January2023.
- ^Stevenson, Rebecca (17 November 2010)."Number 1 makeover".Fairfax New Zealand.stuff.co.nz.
- ^"Cheap and trendy shoes you'll love".stuff.co.nz.30 July 2012.
- ^"Consumer Watchdog: Smells like real leather".APN News & Media.Herald on Sunday.22 April 2012.
- ^"Christchurch business secures footwear contract".Adrenalin Publishing. NZ Business. 5 November 2014.
- ^Harris, Catherine (27 August 2015)."Hellaby flags sale of shoe stores Hannahs and Number One Shoes".stuff.co.nz.Stuff Business.
- ^abHarris, Catherine (11 October 2017)."Bapcor sells NZ assets including Hannah's and Number One Shoes".stuff.co.nz.
- ^Palmer, Scott (10 May 2021)."Number One Shoes employee arrested over alleged covert, sexual acts with coworkers' shoes for fetish site".MediaWorks New Zealand.Newshub.
- ^Palmer, Scott (11 May 2021)."Number One Shoes employee accused of posting pictures of teens to shoe fetish porn sites, could have 250 victims".MediaWorks New Zealand.Newshub.
- ^Ellingham, Jimmy (25 May 2021)."Shoe shop worker admits lewd acts with other people's footwear".stuff.co.nz.
- ^Ellingham, Jimmy (7 July 2021)."Shoe shop worker avoids conviction for lewd acts with other people's footwear".stuff.co.nz.
- ^Carrolll, Melanie (1 July 2021)."More shoe shuffling likely as Hannahs closes 'shabby' stores".stuff.co.nz.Stuff Business.