Barkers or Barkers Men's Clothing is a New Zealand
menswear
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion ...
fashion brand and retail chain. It has 31 stores around the country, including 13 in Auckland. It was established in
Auckland CBD
The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson. It is New Zealand's l ...
in 1972, and is headquartered in
Grafton, Auckland
Grafton is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is named for the Duke of Grafton, a patron of the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, and the grandfather of a subsequent Governor, Robert FitzRoy. Once known as 'Grafton Heigh ...
.
The chain sells a range of
men's clothing, including
shirts,
knitwear
Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pi ...
,
pants
Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...
,
jeans,
sweatshirts
A sweatshirt is a long-sleeved pullover shirt fashioned out of thick, usually cotton cloth material. Sweatshirts are almost exclusively casual attire and hence not as dressy as some sweaters. Sweatshirts may or may not have a hood. A sweatshirt w ...
,
jackets
A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...
and
coats,
blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
s,
t-shirts
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generall ...
,
shorts
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
,
polo shirts
A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by polo players originally in India in 1859 and in Great Britain during the 1920s.
...
,
socks
A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...
,
ties TIES may refer to:
* TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science
* TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System
* TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence
* Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science
The ''Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science' ...
and
belt
Belt may refer to:
Apparel
* Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist
* Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports
* Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practit ...
s.
Max Fashion, a New Zealand
women's clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
retail chain, is a subsidiary of Barkers.
It has 32 stores around the country, including 10 in Auckland. The chain sells
dresses
A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers ...
,
tops
Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom.
TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
,
knitwear
Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pi ...
,
jackets
A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...
,
coats,
pants
Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...
,
skirts
A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards.
At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...
,
singlets,
sleepwear
Nightwear – also called sleepwear, or nightclothes – is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with warmer styles being worn in colder conditions and vice versa. Some style ...
and
swimwear.
History
1970s
Raymond Barker opened his first clothing store in 1972, on the corner of Victoria and High Streets of the Auckland CBD. The store faced stiff competition from 36 other specialist menswear retailers in the central city, with some threatening to cancel orders with suppliers and wholesalers that did business with Barker. The store sold original designs rather than those of major manufacturers.
Barker's charismatic 18-year-old salesman, Jeff Parsonson, went on to became his business partner.
A second store, named Collars and Cuffs, was opened five months later on nearby
Queen Street, selling mostly body shirts. The store was moved to a larger site at 200 Queen Street, fitted out to theme of 1974 film
The Great Gatsby
''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...
, and renamed Barkers.
1980s
Raymond Barker began opening illegally on Saturday mornings in 1980 with the nearby Record Warehouse, as a protest against the ban on Saturday trading.
Despite campaigning by the Shop Employees Union to retain the ban,
National Government legalised Saturday morning trading six months later.
Max Fashions was established separately in the 1980s by David Wright. It then came under the ownership of private equity companies, including
Ezibuy
EziBuy is a New Zealand and Australian multi-channel retailer. It sells clothing, homeware and gifts through a multi-channel model in both countries.
Products can be purchased through catalogues, and four retail stores around New Zealand. The reta ...
and its parent company.
1990s
Barker and his staff often travelled overseas to study international trends. By the 1990s, the Barkers brand had a baggy, over-sized style.
Store manager Lester Van Der Veer returned home in the early 1990s with the idea of a hooded sweatshirt and matching trackpants for both men and women. First XV rugby teams and rowing eight teams received trackpants and sweatshirts embroidered with their school and team to promote the products. More than 50,0000 pairs of the trackpants, manufactured in
West Auckland, were sold in the next few years.
The arrival of Australian retailers in the 1990s, which sold cheaper Chinese-made clothing, forced Bakers to also move its manufacturing offshore.
2000s
Barker sold the company in 2002 following a heart attack, and the company went through of ownership changes over the following decade.
Retail and wholesale operator Ben Nathan owned the chain for a period; it had 18 stores during this time.
In 2006, Barkers had 19 stores.
2010s
The company came under new ownership in the early 2010s. The brand was relaunched to focus on its heritage.
On its 40th anniversary in 2012, the company launched a Barkers branded magazine, beer, and a
7-inch single by
Lawrence Arabia
Lawrence Arabia is the musical guise of New Zealand artist and composer James Milne.
In 2006, Lawrence Arabia released his self-titled debut album and the debut album from his band The Reduction Agents, ''The Dance Reduction Agents''. Both al ...
, and revived the 1990s trackpants. Bakers also began collaborating with other brands like
Swanndri,
Flying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...
, McKinlay's and Surfline, and it became the formalwear supplier to the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
. The company's 25 stores were refitted with unique local themes, and the two flagship stores were opened on Auckland's High Street and Wellington's Lambton Quay.
In 2016, a transgender woman who had worked at the Barkers Groom Room attached to the Barkers High Street flagship store took a claim to the
Employment Relations Authority
The New Zealand Employment Relations Act 2000 (sometimes known by its acronym, ERA) is a statute of the Parliament of New Zealand. It was substantially amended by the Employment Relations (Validation of Union Registration and Other Matters) ...
that she had been unjustifiably dismissed after
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
.
In May 2018,
First Union New Zealand
First Union New Zealand is a national trade union in New Zealand that was formed on 1 October 2011 by the merger of the National Distribution Union and Finsec.
On the 7th of November 2018, the New Zealand Bakers, Pastrycooks and Related Emplo ...
accused Max Fashion (under its previous ownership) of requiring staff to work unpaid. Max Fashion said it had only received one complaint, from a staff member who worked 15 minutes over time under their contractual obligations.
In October 2018, Barkers announced it had acquired Max Fashion, giving it a combination of 40 Max stores, 30 Barkers stores, and a total of 600 stores. It also confirmed plans for an additional Barkers store at
Commercial Bay Shopping Centre
Commercial Bay Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand. It is situated at 11–19 Customs Street West between Lower Albert Street and the Britomart Transport Centre.
The centre was known as Downtown Shoppi ...
.
2020s
In late 2019 and early 2020, the Max brand was relaunched with a new logo, campaign and sustainability policy. Its new product range included New Zealand merino wool knitwear, organic denim, recycled materials, and denim requiring reduced water usage.
Barkers and Max stores were required to close during the
COVID-19 lockdown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
, like all clothing stores. Both chains applied for a Government wage subsidy for more than 100 staff.
The restrictions caused a major loss of revenue for Max Fashion, increasing its debt to Barkers and creditors. It proposed closing 17 stores, bringing its store count to 23.
By 2022, 32 Max Fashion stores were still operating.
References
External links
Barkers Men's Clothing Official WebsiteMax Fashion Official Website
{{Retailers in New Zealand
Clothing retailers of New Zealand
Companies based in Auckland
Retail companies established in 1972
New Zealand companies established in 1972