The Premier Drapery Company (known as PDC) dated from 1915 until 1988. It was a small Department store initially, blooming into a full blown department store, the biggest in the city (ahead of DIC also on the Square and Collinson and Cunningham on Broadway.) It was (as were all) very busy stores. DIC closed in 1991 and the façade was kept intact with the new city Library being built on site. Collinson and Cunningham closed in 1983 taken over by Farmers. In 1992 the former PDC building had been demolished and 100 stores opened up in the new buildings as the Plaza Mall, coincidentally Farmers moved there soon after.
My history with PDC? In 1968 We (family) moved into Palmerston North and soon after Mum got a job in the Furnishing department at PDC. Every day after school myself and my three siblings would at various stages visit her for errands to be done. Mum loved her time there and made many lifetime friends and families. The whole company was a social time too, including their own tea rooms and social bar. More to follow.
She rose to senior salesperson in that department and had regular customers, mainly farmers wives. Her social club members and fellow salespersons were Lois London (RIP), Barbara Murray, one I have forgotten Murray Beale, and Bryan Yaxley (RIP). The store was very family friendly, both staff and customers.
In 1988 after 20 years great service to Palmy (and PDC) staff were sent letters to say the PDC had been sold and in August the store closed as PDC and rebuilt as PDC Plaza. The whole building was demolished to make way for 100 businesses in a mall environment. Basically staff were sacked and that's when the Plaza reopened in 1992.
That letter said their jobs were gone and there would be no redundancy payments. Mum had Dad at home recovering from another mental health issue and with her losing her job this broke her back and in September was diagnosed with Stage 1 Cancer. Basically stress from not getting her redundancy. She also lost one of her older sisters to Cancer in September that year and she herself succumbed passing away in December 1988. From memory staff lost their Social Club funds.
In 1991 Kiwi Property Inc took on funding The Plaza and as of today they still run the mall (as well as others around the country). Do you think they are morally obliged to pay out redundancy posthumously to the families of former staff, as they are clearly running at a huge profit?
Karma Bus.
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