John Martin & Co. Ltd, colloquially known as John Martin's or simply Johnnies, was an
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
-based company which ran a popular chain of
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
s in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. It operated for more than 130 years, from 1866 until its closure in 1998. Johnnies, owned by the prominent
Hayward family for the majority of its existence, became an Adelaide icon, responsible for the famous
Adelaide Christmas Pageant
The Adelaide Christmas Pageant is a parade held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Established in 1933, the event is staged annually on the second Saturday of November, typically from 9.30am except 2020 and 2021 where it was ...
. It was latterly owned by
David Jones.
History
John Martin's had its origin in a single draper's shop "Peters and Martin" founded on
Rundle Street by Otto Peters and John Martin on 24 October 1866. Peters withdrew from the partnership after a few years and opened his own store in Palmerston (now
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...
). He later died in the wreck of the ''
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
''. The partners had taken over two adjoining shops to the east, and in 1875 Martin took over two more, and by 1880 a further two had been purchased, giving the store a frontage of . The principals of the company were then John Martin, E. W. Hayward and Richard Martin, with a staff numbering 500. On 22 August 1889 the business was restructured as a
limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...
. John Martin died at his residence on 25 November 1889, of excess and debauchery said the ''Kalgoorlie Sun''.
A rebuilding program began in 1898, with the Charles Street corner block being replaced with a modern structure of two-storeys and a basement, then the central block was rebuilt, but was destroyed by fire on Easter Saturday 1901. The King of Hanover Hotel to the west was purchased in 1902, bringing the store's frontage to . In 1934 the central section was rebuilt seven storeys high, with a sub-basement for control gear, boilers, emergency generators etc., especially designed not to interfere with the Magic Cave.
John Martin's was a respected "middle market" retailer, with a reputation for quality, range and value. Indeed, for many years, their claim was that they were the "Big Store" in
Rundle Street- Adelaide's major shopping precinct. They had business links with other major regional department store retailers (Sydney's
Grace Bros
Grace Bros was an Australian department store chain, founded in 1885. It was bought by Myer (later Coles Myer) in 1983. There were 25 stores across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory plus a few in Victoria, until they wer ...
and Tasmania's
FitzGerald's) with joint ownership of the Intercontinental Buying Group. This was in an era when Australian department store retailing was largely state based. Also, John Martin's had significant shareholdings in other prominent South Australian companies.
When
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
visited Australia in 1964, John Martin's sponsored their visit to perform in Adelaide (which was not on the original tour itinerary).
In the 1970s, John Martin's developed a national discount store chain
Venture. Ultimately, this chain was sold, and it operated under separate ownership until 1994 (when it closed due to financial problemsunrelated to John Martin's).
Decline, acquisition and closure
By the 1980s, department store retailing was becoming increasingly competitive, and regional chains were under pressure to consolidateto increase sales and cut costs (by spreading fixed overhead costs over a broader store network). John Martin's department store competitors were expanding nationallyfor example,
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and child ...
acquired
Lindsay's (the basis for its Target chain),
Boans
Boans was a department store chain that operated in Perth, Western Australia between from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.
It was located between Wellington Street, Perth, Wellington Street and Murray Street, Perth, Murray Stre ...
and Grace Bros. Then, food and discount retailer
Coles took over Myer in 1985. Also, the discount store phenomenon was gaining momentum, with
Kmart
Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
and
Target
Target may refer to:
Warfare and shooting
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artille ...
expanding rapidly, and the establishment of
Big W
Big W (stylised as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of the Woolworths Group and as of 2024 operated 179 stores, with around 18,000 emp ...
.
Another pressure was the increased availability of bank credit cards. Before 1974, when Australian banks introduced
Bankcard
Bankcard was a shared brand credit card issued by financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand between 1974 and 2006. It was managed by the ''Bankcard Association of Australia'', a joint venture of Australia's largest banks, and was the ...
, the majority of retail purchase credit was offered by department stores through "in house" credit cards. John Martin's was a major credit card issuer, with its distinctive orange credit card facilitating purchases in their stores. The wide availability of credit which was not tied to a particular store gave customers additional freedom to shop in a broader range of stores.
Against this background, John Martin's operated in a significantly more challenging business environment. In the early 1980s the publicly-listed company was the subject of takeover activity. During this time, at one stage the major shareholder was prominent retailer
Solomon Lew
Solomon Lew (born 22 March 1945) is an Australian businessman. His principal commercial activities involve importing apparel, toys and other goods into Australia from China and investments, mainly in retail companies.
As a teenager, Lew suppli ...
. Ultimately, ownership settled in 1985 when the
Adelaide Steamship Company
The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company, later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods be ...
-controlled
David Jones acquired John Martin's.
David Jones continued for some time to operate the John Martin's stores as a separate retail chain, more down market to their David Jones-branded stores. During the mid-1990s, John Martin's operated in the face of more aggressive competition, including the continuing rise of discount department stores, and the expansion of local competitor
Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel.
It was founded in 1849 in Adelaide, South Australia and has more than 50 stores nationally.
In 2015, ownership of Harris Sc ...
(which expanded from its
Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 after the closing of the western section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to ...
base into suburban Adelaide locations). Retailing in this era was characterised by frequent off price promotions. John Martin's endeavoured to relaunch and counterattack, with a new logo in early 1994 and publicity of a
price match policy. However, these measures did not improve sales and profit,
The stores at
Elizabeth Shopping Centre
Elizabeth City Centre is a large regional shopping centre in the outer Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia. The centre is the fourth biggest in Adelaide, behind Colonnades Shopping Centre, Westfield Tea Tree Plaza, and Westfield Mario ...
and
Westfield Arndale were sold to Harris Scarfe. Elizabeth became Harris Scarfe in June 1997 and Arndale in November 1997, the Elizabeth store was sold to Myer in 2007 but again became Harris Scarfe in May 2015 after Myer did not renew the lease. The stores at
Westfield Marion
Westfield Marion (colloquially known as simply "Marion") is the largest shopping centre in Adelaide, South Australia, located in Oaklands Park, serving greater Southern Adelaide. Westfield Marion is the eleventh largest shopping centre in A ...
and
West Lakes Mall were rebadged as David Jones in late October 1996. The John Martin's outdoor furniture store at
Keswick was also closed (this store was a former Clark Rubber store operated by another company within the Adelaide Steamship Company).
The last John Martin's store to close was the
Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 after the closing of the western section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to ...
flagship store in the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...
. Despite strong public opposition, the store was closed on 15 March 1998. Soon after, the Art Deco building was demolished to allow for the Adelaide Central Plaza complex which was to house a new smaller David Jones store and other retailers which opened in August 2000. The previous David Jones building was sold and reconstructed to become the Rundle Mall Plaza complex opening in 2002. The John Martin's car park had apartments built on the top of it and the John Martin's Plaza is still there but is now known as Charles Street Plaza. Several attempts were made to have the John Martin's building heritage listed, but all failed.
Locations
First opened in 1886, John Martin's kept an iconic local presence with its main six-level store in Adelaide's
Rundle Street (later
Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 after the closing of the western section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to ...
) while expanding into Adelaide's suburban shopping centres including
Arndale (opened 1963),
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
(opened 1964),
Marion Marion or MARION may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Marion (band), a British alternative rock group
* ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries
* ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film
* ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short
People a ...
(opened 1968) and
West Lakes (opened 1975) plus a Bulk Store warehouse in
Lockleys and outdoor furniture store in
Keswick. In total, there were 5 stores, the main city store and 4 suburban stores.
Its well-known legacy department store network in Adelaide was supplemented by a network of independent country retailers which operated as its agent in regional towns across South Australia.
Legacy
Since the closure of the stores, David Jones have returned ownership of the John Martin's name to the Hayward family.
During its operation, John Martin's contributed significantly to South Australian society. This included sponsorship of major events such as the
Adelaide Christmas Pageant
The Adelaide Christmas Pageant is a parade held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Established in 1933, the event is staged annually on the second Saturday of November, typically from 9.30am except 2020 and 2021 where it was ...
and the
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
.
The Christmas tradition of the
Magic Cave at John Martin's store in Rundle Street (now Rundle Mall) may date back to 1896.
In 1933,
Edward Hayward instigated the first John Martin's Christmas Pageant, which from 1934 has concluded with
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...
arriving at the store and entering the Magic Cave.
The Magic Cave tradition, including its connection with the pageant, is continued by David Jones. David Jones however does not continue the tradition in the same way that John Martin's had previously. John Martin's had a dedicated area set aside each year for the Magic Cave which was located next to the toy department and was surrounded by Christmas decoration and trim. A special Santa Express Lift was used to transport children direct to the Magic Cave. In David Jones the Magic Cave is much smaller and is located up near the furniture department. The pageant itself is now owned by the
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
, with naming rights given to the five major
credit unions
A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts ( cheque accounts), credit ...
. Following this the pageant was known as the Credit Union Christmas Pageant for 20 years. In early 2019,
People's Choice Credit Union announced they would be terminating their sponsorship of the pageant, leaving National Pharmacies to win sponsorship of the pageant. The pageant is now called the National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant.
The first publication on the history of John Martin’s was released by Paul Flavel in September 2024.
References
Further reading
*Atkinson, Bruce. "John Martin's icon about to fade from retail scene", ''The Advertiser'', 26 January 1998.
Wood, Leonie. "DJs Lifts Veil On $300m Adelaide Tower" (21 February 1997), ''The Age'' Retrieved 17 March 2017
''The Adelaide Review'': Spirit of Johnnies lives on− Staff reunion picnic exhibition at Carrick Hill, November 2005
*John Martin's by Paul Flavel - www.johnmartinsbook.com
{{Authority control
Australian companies established in 1866
Retail companies established in 1866
Australian companies disestablished in 1998
Retail companies disestablished in 1998
Defunct department stores of Australia
History of Adelaide
Companies based in Adelaide