Garlicks

Garlicks was a South African department-store chain whose origins lay in a single shop opened by John Garlick in Cape Town on 3 May 1875. The first premises stood at the corner of Bree and Strand Streets in the city's central business district. From this Cape Town base, the business expanded during the 1880s into other important commercial centres, including Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kimberley. This early geographic growth established Garlicks as a multi-city retailer rather than a business confined to the Cape. In 1892, the original Cape Town operation moved to a substantially larger building at Exchange Place on Adderley Street, opposite Cape Town railway station. The replacement store reflected the modernizing retail architecture of the period. It was equipped with lifts, electric lighting throughout and automatic fire sprinklers, features that distinguished it from more conventional nineteenth-century shops. Garlicks later constructed a nine-storey steel-framed building in Cape Town. The structure was described as South Africa's first steel-framed skyscraper and, at the time, the tallest building in the Cape Colony. It also introduced the first escalators in what is now South Africa, linking the retailer with the development of modern urban shopping and commercial construction. Over time, Garlicks operated branches in several major South African retail locations. Its network included a store at Cavendish Square, identified as Cape Town's first large suburban shopping centre, and a branch in Johannesburg's Carlton Centre, which opened in the early 1970s and was then Africa's tallest building. These locations placed the brand in both traditional central-business-district department stores and newer suburban or landmark commercial complexes. The chain therefore formed part of the transformation of South African retail from nineteenth-century city-centre premises toward large-scale, vertically integrated and suburban shopping environments. The available historical record identifies Garlicks primarily as a department-store chain and does not provide a complete catalogue of its merchandise, detailed ownership history, financial results or executive succession. Its significance rests chiefly on its longevity, national branch expansion and role in retail and architectural innovation. The last Garlicks department store, in Cape Town, closed in late February 1993. The brand is consequently defunct, with its surviving importance concentrated in South African retail history and the history of Cape Town's commercial buildings.

Garlicks began on 3 May 1875, when John Garlick opened a shop at the corner of Bree and Strand Streets in Cape Town's central business district. During the 1880s, the business expanded beyond Cape Town, establishing branches in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kimberley. The expansion reflected the growth of commercial networks between the Cape and the interior territories of southern Africa. In 1892, Garlicks replaced its original Cape Town store with a much larger building at Exchange Place on Adderley Street, across from Cape Town railway station. The store incorporated lifts, electric lighting and automatic fire sprinklers, demonstrating the retailer's adoption of contemporary building and operating technologies. Garlicks subsequently built a nine-storey steel-framed skyscraper in Cape Town. It was regarded as South Africa's first steel-framed skyscraper and was the tallest building in the Cape Colony at the time. The building also contained the first escalators in what is now South Africa, giving Garlicks a notable place in the country's retail and architectural history. The chain continued to develop a presence in major South African commercial centres. Its branches included a location at Cavendish Square, Cape Town's first large suburban shopping centre, and a store in Johannesburg's Carlton Centre. The latter opened in the early 1970s in a building that was then Africa's tallest. Garlicks thus occupied both established central-city retail sites and newer landmark shopping developments. The sources available for the brand do not document its full product range, corporate ownership, financial performance or management structure. They do, however, establish Garlicks as a long-running department-store chain with a presence in several major South African cities. The final Garlicks department store closed in Cape Town in late February 1993, ending the brand's retail operations.

• 1993

  Final store closes

  [1]Garlicksen.wikipedia.org

  The last Garlicks department store closed in Cape Town in late February 1993.

• 1970

  Carlton Centre branch

  [1]Garlicksen.wikipedia.org

  Garlicks operated a branch in Johannesburg's Carlton Centre, which opened in the early 1970s and was then Africa's tallest building.

• 1892

  New Adderley Street store opens

  [1]Garlicksen.wikipedia.org

  The original Cape Town store was replaced by a larger building at Exchange Place on Adderley Street, opposite Cape Town railway station, with lifts, electric lighting and automatic fire sprinklers.

• 1880

  Expansion into the Transvaal and northern Cape

  [1]Garlicksen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1880s, Garlicks expanded with branches in Johannesburg and Pretoria in the Transvaal, as well as Kimberley in the northern Cape Province.

• 1875

  John Garlick opens the first store

  [1]Garlicksen.wikipedia.org

  John Garlick opened the first Garlicks store on 3 May at the corner of Bree and Strand Streets in Cape Town's central business district.

• Construction of a pioneering Cape Town skyscraper

  [1]Garlicksen.wikipedia.org

  Garlicks built a nine-storey steel-framed skyscraper that was described as South Africa's first of its kind, the tallest building in the Cape Colony at the time, and the site of the first escalators in what is now South Africa.

A historic multi-city South African department-store retailer associated with large urban stores, broad general merchandise retailing and prominent commercial locations.

• Department-store retail · 1875

  Garlicks department stores

  Garlicks operated as a general department-store retailer serving shoppers through large urban and suburban branches. The available reference identifies the business by its department-store format but does not provide a reliable detailed breakdown of individual merchandise categories or private-label lines.

1. 1Garlicksen.wikipedia.org