Directors combine many years of experience

Press, 14 January 1986, Page 13

Directors combine many years of experience

The linking of the new supermarket with the Rangiora Farmers department store in High Street

has a family flavour that goes beyond the retail appeal of the two stores to entire family groups as cus-'

tomers. A director of Rangiora Farmers, Mr Arch Still, is a grandson of one of the original founders of GUS Wholesalers Co-op, operators of the Supervalue franchise. In 1928, his grandfather, also Mr Arch Still, formed GUS in association with others, including a wellknown grocer, Mr Lance Hawkins, who went on to become chairman of GUS for 30 years, retiring in 1983. Mr Still’s father, Arch, and an uncle also served on the executive of GUS. Mr Still’s grandfather arrived from Scotland in 1910. He worked at A. J. White and then farmed for some time. In 1919, he ran Alfred Manhire in Hornby, which was later to become Stills, Ltd. Mr Still’s father and this three brothers assumed responsibility of the business, which they ran until it was sold in 1965. Mr Still, aged 42, joined Hays, Ltd, in 1966 and was made assistant manager of the Christchurch store in 1971. In 1973, he was appointed manager of Haywrights, Blenheim. He returned to Christchurch in 1980 as manager of Cashel Street branch,

where he worked until buying the Rangiora business with Mr Tim Freer in 1982. Mr Freer, who won the Young Retailer of the Year awarded by the Retailers’ Federation in 1983, is aged 31, and has worked in the retail trade since he left school in 1973. He began work at Tisdalls Sports Centre, Christchurch, before moving to the Farmers sports department at Cashel Street. After a number of years as section head for a variety of departments, he was made hardware group sales supervisor and, subsequently, merchandise supervisee at the Cashel Street store. Mr Freer also spent a year travelling overseas gaining retail experience in the United Kingdom and the United States. He attended the Distribution Industry’s Training' Board first national certificate of retailing course held in Christchurch, and has been awarded New Zealand Institute of Management certificates. Mr Freer was appointed store manager for the Farmers and Haywrights store at Rangiora before joining with Mr Still in buying the business.