The move to set up a co-operative group of hardware stores, originated from a meeting held in Victoria, June 1959, with five men who would become Mitre 10's founding fathers - Tom Molomby, Tom Danaher, Reg Buchanan, Jack Womersley and Ian Nisbet. This move occurred specifically to maximise funds and energy with regards to advertising and promotions and to demonstrate that independent operators offered service, advice and competitive prices. The group quickly grew in membership to the point where it required a full time management team.

After its electrifying start, the innovative new company expanded operations, with fifteen New South Wales members joining the group by February 1961. Queensland soon followed with seven retailers, under the chairmanship of Arthur Scurr, joining the cooperative in January 1962, followed by a further sixteen members from Newcastle in October the same year. With the company successfully operational in the three Eastern states by the end of 1962 and South Australia and Western Australia soon running their own state based co-operatives, attentions turned to crossing the Tasman. After initial early discussions in Auckland, Mitre 10 New Zealand was established on June 20, 1974.

Originally there were only eight members of the fledgling company, although the group was confident the number would be increased to ten before long. "Mitre 10" simply sounded more lyrical than "Mitre 8" or "Mitre 11"! Today, the Mitre 10 Hardware Group has more than 900 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand.