Our History

In April 1849, Richard Wills emigrated to South Australia aboard Spartan, followed by his brother George Wills, in December 1849 aboard Minerva  with a  shipment of textiles to set up shop in Adelaide. By October 1853, they had formed a partnership, G. & R. Wills with premises at 40 and 41 Rundle Street, Adelaide. George returned once to England to be married, and the second time, in 1859, permanently to take control of the company’s purchasing house. Richard passed in 1862 and was buried in West Terrace cemetery.

 Hermann Oelmann (1840–1889), was commercial traveller for the company 1863–1876 then after the death of C. G. Balk, he was made a partner 1876–1882. Around 1882, W. Herbert Phillipps was given the task of establishing the subsidiary shipping firm of George Wills & Co. before he later retired in 1902. By 1922 the company also had establishments in Melbourne, Perth, Fremantle, Kalgoorlie and Broken Hill as well as agencies in Sydney and Brisbane. The Adelaide headquarters occupied the block bounded by Rundle Street, Gawler Place, North Terrace and Fisher place, and a factory in Pulteney Street. The Perth warehouse ran between St. Georges Terrace and Hay Street, while the Melbourne premises were in Flinders Lane. The company went public in 1946.

OUR SERVICES

  • We are a one stop shop for your General Merchandise and Clothing needs
  • Effectively sourcing and supplying General Merchandise across 60+ different product categories to remote and local communities at competitive pricing across Northern Australia
  • Effectively sourcing and supplying Quality Clothing to remote and local communities at competitive pricing
  • Facilitating and consolidating stock orders from remote communities for General Merchandise and Clothing
  • Reducing shipping charges for our customers by consolidating pellet loads.
  • Visiting remote communities Face to Face either by road or plane to assist with store relays, order placements, merchandising and promotional activities
  • Marketing support and in-store activations
  • Providing guidance and advise on sales opportunities and growth options
  • Telephone assistance with order placements and online ordering
  • 30 day trading facility for Business owners
  • After sales support second to none!
  • Government tenders

meet the team

 

Mark McKenzie
Managing Director

IAN
CEO

Narelle
CFO

Mohan
Sales & Marketing Manager

Ben
General Manager

Jess
Clothing Manager

Jacques
Warehouse Manager

Tony
Stock Controller

Michelle
sales Coordinator

Kasey
Marketing Specialist

hayley
Accounts

Jacob
Account Manager - Darwin

Harrison
Account Manager - Western Australia

Jack
ACCOUNT MANAGER - ALICE SPRINGS/Cairns