End of an era as furniture retailer Le Cornu closes in South Australia
ONCE a stalwart of South Australia’s retail landscape, Sunday marks the last day for furniture retailer Le Cornu — an SA icon since 1854.
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DRIVING down Anzac Highway, the red and white Le Cornu furniture sign is hard to miss.
A stalwart of South Australia’s retail landscape, Le Cornu will close the doors to its Keswick store on October 9.
The 3.6ha site, at 10 Anzac Highway, is for sale and its future use as a commercial, residential or mixed-use site remains unclear.
Le Cornu’s history goes back to 1861, when Phillip Joshua Le Cornu leased a small shop at 66 O’Connell St and started a furniture making business.
Over the years, the Le Cornu family continued to grow the business and by the 1980s there were stores in North Adelaide and Keswick.
In 1986, people lined up for hours outside both Le Cornu stores to snap up bargains such as
lounge suites for $10, carpets at 4c a metre, mattresses at $1 and chests of drawers for
10c.
The North Adelaide store closed in 1989 and the site remains vacant, with current owners the Makris Group still finalising its plans for the block.
After consolidating its SA operations to Keswick in 1989 — as well running its Darwin store — Le Cornu became known for its newspaper and television advertising.
The Keswick store was renowned for its myriad room displays, showcasing its furniture, as well as its childcare facilities and restaurant.
At the time of the reopening, on April 8, 1989, then Premier John Bannon said the “massive expansion of retailing” represented by the revamped Le Cornu complex reflected great confidence in the SA economy.
The reopening was celebrated with a horse-drawn cart journey from the North Adelaide premises to the Keswick premises — carrying with it an original 19th century table setting — just before
the official opening by Mr Bannon.
In 2008 New South Wales-based company Fantastic Holdings — which also owns Fantastic Furniture, Plush and Original Mattress Factory — bought Le Cornu for $1.3 million with a focus on targeting younger furniture buyers.
In 2010, Le Cornu announced plans to rebrand and add new product lines, including televisions.
It also opened a new $60,000 cafe and a vibrant new children’s play area.
But in July of this year, Fantastic Holdings announced it was closing Le Cornu in Adelaide. Le Cornu continues to trade in Darwin.
At the time of the announcement, Fantastic Holdings Group chief executive of retail Debra Singh said it was focused on investing further in its core brands in SA.
“It will enable us to best deliver a long term platform for growth that will be positive for our customers, our people and our shareholders,” she said.
“Our immediate priority is of course to assist all Le Cornu employees.
“While some redundancies are unavoidable, we will be working to ensure as many employees as possible are redeployed within the Group.”
She said the Le Cornu business had been profitable in the past few years, but in 2015-16 trade had deteriorated.
Le Cornu parent company Fantastic Holdings was contacted for comment about the last day of trade in Adelaide, but did not reply.
Australian Furniture Association chief executive Patrizia Torelli said it is saddened by the closure of Le Cornu in SA.
“While it is impossible to foresee the future of any one individual business, the trend of selling out to international buyers seems to be delivering the same results for Australian companies,” she said.
“All we can do as a national peak body is to continue to lobby government and regulatory bodies for support to grow Australian businesses for the global marketplace.
“Australian products are highly sought after internationally, so it makes sense to take it to the world stage.”
Life and times of Le Cornu
1854: Phillip Joshua Le Cornu migrates to South Australia from the UK.
1861: He leases a small shop and stable at 66 O’Connell St. There he starts a cabinet-making business and produces furniture under the trading name P Le Cornu.
1885: Fire breaks out in the P Le Cornu mattress factory, leaving most of it destroyed. Later that year, Phillip Joshua leases a site on Watson St, North Adelaide, and opens a timber yard.
1895: As the business grows, Phillip Joshua employs architects and subcontractors to help expand and rebuild his premises.
1908: Phillip Joshua’s son, Philip, takes over the management of the business.
1921: Phillip Joshua Le Cornu dies, aged 85.
1924: The factory expands and P Le Cornu supplies wholesale furniture around SA. It employs more than 30 people.
1927: Fire again causes devastation, with P Le Cornu’s entire factory and contents burned in less than 15 minutes.
1928: The damaged North Adelaide factory is rebuilt.
1930: Philip Hammond Le Cornu dies. His brothers, Watsford and Charley, take over management of the business.
1944: Lance Le Cornu, grandson of Philip Hammond, founds SAFCOL (SA Fisherman’s Co-op). Today, SAFCOL is one of the world’s major suppliers of fresh, packaged and frozen seafood.
1946: P Le Cornu’s sideline undertaking business is sold to Frank William Blackwell, known today as Blackwell Funerals.
1950: Lance buys a majority share in P Le Cornu, with the remainder of shares held by his uncle, Roy. Le Cornu Ltd is formed with Lance and Roy as directors and Lance’s brother, Norm, as secretary.
1954: Le Cornu begins advertising “factory to you” sales and with high demand, other manufacturers are invited to sell through the Le Cornu store.
1966: Le Cornu Furniture expands into Darwin, acquiring Darwin Furnishings.
1967: Le Cornu expands its North Adelaide site to 125,000 square feet, and by 1968 is Australia’s largest furniture store.
1973: Le Cornu buys its Keswick site, building a huge warehouse and showroom, which is double the size of North Adelaide.
1974: The Keswick store is now the world’s largest self-service furniture warehouse and showroom, with childcare facilities, a restaurant and 200 room displays. On Christmas Eve, the Darwin branch is destroyed in Cyclone Tracy.
1980s: With television advertising in full swing, Le Cornu produced catalogues inserted into The Advertiser and Sunday Mail. Keswick and North Adelaide sites are both expanded.
1989: The North Adelaide store closes and trade is consolidated at the Keswick store.
1997: Darwin Le Cornu moves to new premises.
2008: Lance Le Cornu, 89, retires and sells to businessman Kevin Pudney. Later that year, the business is acquired by Fantastic Holdings.
2011: Le Cornu relaunches with a new look and renovated stores.
2016: Fantastic Holdings announces it will close Le Cornu in Adelaide, but it will keep trading in Darwin. The Anzac Highway site is for sale and its future use remains unclear.
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