He arrived in South Australia aboard James Gibb in October 1850 with his wife Caroline Mary and two children.
[1] [4] In 1880, at a time of recession, Fitch purchased the stock of competitors C. Beeton, H. E. Cohen and J. F. Clark, and took over the lease of Mrs. Balthazar's shoe shop next door.
[5] Unlike other drapery stores such as Charles Birks & Co., Fitch never ventured into other retail goods, apart from boots and shoes.
Two sons of J. T. Fitch, jun, Harold and Frank were involved in the business, and in 1925, after the death of their father, founded with drapers Frederick William Miller, Charles Edward Martin and lawyer Oswald Hunter, J. T. Fitch Ltd., a limited liability company, to take over the company's assets and operate the business.
A second storey was added to the rear section of the premises in 1914, and plans for further expansion were made in 1926[10] but in September 1927 the business closed; its merchandise was purchased by John Martin & Co. and "Martin's Building" became in 1928 home to John Reid & Sons' furniture showrooms.