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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
