Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Ltd

Mission and Vision Statement

Mission: To promote the fashion and clothing industry for both men’s and women’s wear as well as remain the top choice fashion store. Vision: To be a global customer preferred wear store.

History/Background of the Company

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Ltd. is one of the leading retail stores in New Zealand. The establishment of the company is traced back to the late 1800’s – a period which was described as the “gold-rush”. The concept of founding Hallenstein Holdings Ltd was initiated by Bendix Hallenstein, a German business person who was born in 1835 (Bollard, 2002). Bendix Hallenstein had a bright business idea even before opening HLG as he had been operating stores in Queenstown and Tasman. Before setting up HLG, Bendix relied on imported menswear as there was no clothing factory in New Zealand. However, this proved very costly and unsustainable. It is for this that Bendix opted for setting-up a local store after the establishment of New Zealand Clothing Factory, which supplied clothing and clothes to retail shops including HLG (Tungate, 2012). In 1875, HLG-NZ was leased to National Insurance Corporation following the financial insolvency challenges. The lease agreement was a re-purchase option which gave Hallensteins Brothers an opportunity to recover back their assets. The company commenced its operation in Dunedin as a single garments’ wholesale shop. The company performance reached its peak by 1986 when it operated more than 72 stores mainly located in its customers’ strong holds such as Whangarei and Invercargill. By 2011, the company had 110 stores globally with 25 of these retail stores in Australia. HLG-NZ has been a part of Kiwi history and culture since its establishment. Following the financial and management challenges which took place in the early 1990’s, the company was forced to shut down a number of its stores (Dun & Bradstreet, 2007) leaving it with 38 operational stores globally.

Products

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Limited stocks both men’s and women’s wear. In New Zealand, HGH is the leading specialty retailer. The company operates under three names: Glassons, Hallensteins and Storm. Glassons is women’s fashion store located in New Zealand. Glassons stocks merino, swimwear, singlets, jeans, bags, socks, wallets, and jewels. Hallensteins is an iconic chain of menswear with stores in New Zealand. Hallensteins stores deals in jackets, shoes, clothes, scarves, among others. Storm, on the other hand, is the latest store established in 2007. Storm mainly targets fashion conscious customers whose purchasing interest goes beyond the traditional specialty chain stocks and are unwilling to meet the designing prices (Mergent FIS, & Mergent, 2009).

Preconditions for Success of the Company

After an extensive market search, HGH opened stores in other countries including Australia. The company has since then made changes to its products and services to match the stiff competition in the clothing industry. For instance, the HGH has moved from its traditional menswear to more modern and fashionable designs for both men and women. Besides, to remain profitable, the management of Hallenstein Glasson Holdings has been forced to adopt pricing policies which take into account the incomes diversities of their potential customers. This entails price discrimination and product differentiation. HGH also offers a range of discounts to its esteemed customers (Bollard, 2002). Alongside with these services, HGH Ltd. offers after sale services to customers who reside within an economically reachable radius. The large sales volume witnessed over the years is accredited to the quality of clothing that the company sells. The seeding of employees fund is believed to be one of the strongholds behind the success of HGH. Interests which accrued from the principal amounts were specifically allocated to meeting the medical cover of the employees, thus job satisfaction, which is characterized by increased productivity. The main reason for the success of the company even in the twenty-first century is the policy founded on the quality and fair pricing (Tungate, 2012). The removal of trade barriers and import duties on clothing industry forced the company to close its local manufacturing units and, instead, opted for importation as the domestic products were relatively expensive compared to imported clothes. On the contrary, free trade resulted in better quality products at affordable prices.

Changes in Ownership Structure

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings is the leading seller and distributor of men’s and women’s wear and other fashion designs. The company supplies a range of clothing items from shirts and school uniforms to pants. As opposed to the traditional customer target, HGH-NZ aims at selling more fashionable male and female wear. The company has, therefore, moved from targeting a specific age group to fashion conscious customers (Tungate, 2012). Although initially operated as a family business, HGH has since then changed its management and ownership structure. In 1985, the company formed a merger with Glassons, a company which was highly successful in women’s wear. This led to the name “Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Ltd.” The merger implied that both Hallensteins and Glasson had to reposition themselves in the clothing industry to remain popular and reputable. Since then, the company’s shareholding policy had been amended to allow interest investors to invest in HGH-NZ. The company stocks are listed in the leading global capital and stock markets (Mergent FIS, & Mergent, 2009).