Harris Scarfe & Co. opens

In 1884 Harris Scarfe & Co. opened a retail store next to the John Barleycorn Hotel on the south side of Rundle Street west. The small firm of Harris Scarfe grew to be a major retail and wholesale supplier of household, agricultural and industrial items. Five-storey premises replaced the original Rundle Street shop in 1923. By 1928 Harris Scarfe occupied premises along part of Gawler Place and back to Grenfell Street. In 1971 Harris Scarfe was taken over by the Investment and Merchant Finance Corporation. Charles Davis Ltd acquired control of the business in 1976 and developed the Rundle Mall store as a full department store. In the early 1990s Harris Scarfe expanded to other locations and became Australia’s third largest department store retailer.