Thomas's Information

The building owners drove a hard bargain however, and it took three trips to Wellington to negotiate before a deal was struck, with Thomas's eventually bowing to the seller's terms. However, the new building added a great deal to the potential of Thomas's, and after 12 months of work which included building a common roof over the two buildings, Thomas's had a shop layout of such size and quality that without this move, Terence reckoned they would never have survived the next 20 years in business. In the mid-sixties, Terence became an elected member of the Board of the NZ Retailers Federation for 3 years, making contacts with many large and important retailers. It was at this stage too that the focus for the business became upgrading the fashion image of their merchandise. Importing fashion apparel from England held a great deal of appeal, but import licences in those days were difficult to acquire. However, persistence paid off in this regard and Terence made his first trip of many to London to buy ladies' apparel. After going up against the indifference many English manufacturers held towards a retailer from New Zealand, Terence's persistence managed to open a few doors. He obtained access to several well known names that were to become vital to Thomas's operation, as demand for their high quality apparel began to extend beyond the boundaries of Marlborough. Then, in a case of history repeating itself in 1964, Terence's son Michael joined the team at Thomas's. Michael had spent a year working for James Smith Ltd in Wellington and two working for public accountancy firm after finishing his secondary school years there. His arrival coincided with an extended period of consolidation and planning. In the early seventies, having seen that the growth and modernisation of the ladies apparel section had not been matched in the rest of the store, a major restructuring job was undertaken. Indeed, renovations and the constant refreshment of displays, layouts and presentations became a habit for Thomas's over these ...