Australia's Lost Department Stores VIII: Boans (Spring-Summer 1958-59)

 Most of the department stores I've discussed so far have been clustered in the big cities of the east coast, but now I'm heading to the city of Perth in the far west of Australia.  Western Australia is separated from the rest of the country by immense stretches of desert and Perth lies over 2,131 kilometres from Adelaide, the nearest capital city.  However the story of Boans is fairly typical for an Australian department store.  It begins in 1895 when Harry Boans arrived in Perth and set up a "grand palace of drapery".

(The cover depicts Boans's new—in 1958—suburban store at Cannington:

Boans Waverley, with its 35,000 square feet of space containing 80 departments, will be open from 8.35 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8.35 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Facilities included free parking, a playground, a hairdresser, a subscription library, dry cleaning, shoe repair and a chiropodist!)

Harry Boans had a flair for publicity and knew all the latest retailing tricks, so Boans (the store) was a success from its very beginning.  In fact it was such a success that on its opening day doors were broken down, windows were smashed and £142 worth of damages were caused by crowds trying to get into the store!

Teething problems aside, Boans expanded rapidly, and soon established a reputation for good value, good service and the support of local manufacturers.  By 1912 the store had expanded into 35 departments and the premises included a refrigerator plant in the basement to store perishable goods, four electric lifts, two soda fountains and a roof garden.

The First World War slowed things down, but it was full steam ahead again in the roaring twenties.  Profits were large, and Boans could afford some extravagant promotions—such as the mass chartering of taxis to give their customers free rides to and from their sales!

The Depression forced an abrupt U-turn, with the store actually making a loss in 1931.  For a while employees took part in a job-sharing scheme, only working two weeks out of three, in order to avoid mass redundancies.  The outlook improved in the middle of the decade, with Boans feeling prosperous enough to extend its city store in 1935.

Clockwise from top left:

Attractive floral spun, featuring a six gored skirt and neat cool neckline.

A bright cool spun Frock with a four gored skirt, smart trim neckline with a bow finish.

Fancy marquisette in a smart young style.  Skirt has a centre panel and hip yoke.  The boat shaped neckline with a bow trim is cool and fashionable.

Styled in nice quality Honoshan, this Frock featuring a fared skirt with unpressed pleats and a soft fulness from a pretty neckline.

Novelty spot, satin finished spun.  This frock has a full gored skirt, a wide cool neckline and cap sleeves.

 Rationing was a problem for Boans during the Second World War, as it was for all retailers who sold clothes.  What hit particularly hard, however, was a government decree forbidding the transport of cosmetics from the East coast to Western Australia!  Boans had build up a thriving sideline in makeup, hair and beauty treatment during the interwar years, but the government was not to be budged on this issue.

Post-war, Western Australia saw a boom in immigration and a steady movement of Perth's population out to the suburbs.   This meant a decline in sales in Boans' city store, but also an opportunity to open new suburban branches.  The first of these was the "Waverley" store in Cannington in 1958 (see the cover of this catalogue!)

Boans threw a big party to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 1970 (events included a parade through the city and a late-night sale).  However the writing was on the wall in the 1970s.  High inflation meant that the costs of doing business were rising, even as shoppers were changing their shopping habits to offset their squeezed budgets.  By the 1980s the question was: who will buy out Boans?  After a very public tussle the answer was, as in many other cases, Myer.  

Myer bought Boans in 1984, and in 1986, knocked down the old Boans store in central Perth.  The suburban stores continued trading under the "Boans" name until 1988, when they were re-branded as Myer.

The Waverley store in Cannington is now known as the Carousel Shopping Centre, and is owned by Westfield.