Page 2 - OPE November 2019

Weather permitting...
Slow start to the
busy season? That’s what I’m hearing
from a variety of players, and it’s not down to a lack of interest or enthusiasm but – yet again – the weather has been playing us all merry hell.
Still, it could be worse – take the recent far from clement conditions in New South Wales.
And what about the flames still racing across California?
Or the power cuts meant to prevent their power lines causing further conflagration?
It’s no mere coincidence that California is demand central for generators right now...
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Steve Bohling Group Editor
steveb@mpm.nz, 09 304 2705
NZ Outdoor Power Equipment
is published 4 times per year
by Marketplace Media,
Lower Ground Level, 83 Mt Eden Road Grafton, Auckland 1023
PO Box 28372, Remuera, Auckland 1541 Phone: 09 375 3097, Fax: 09 309 0583 Website : www.ope.co.nz
ISSN: 1177-4215
The opinions expressed and material published in New Zealand Outdoor Power Equipment
are not necessarily those of the publisher, except where specifically stated. The content is copyright and may not be reprinted in any form without the permission of the publisher.
Group Editor Steve Bohling 09 304 2705 and 021 0223 6887 steveb@mpm.nz
Account Manager Karen Condon 09 304 2707 and 0275 420 338 karenc@mpm.nz
Account Manager Susan Kennedy 09 304 2706 and 021 317 176 susank@mpm.nz
Studio Manager Rachel Walker 09 304 2709, rachelw@mpm.nz
Publisher Simon Little
021 507 343, simonl@mpm.nz
SERVICING DEALERS
Back to the future
02 NZOUTDOORPOWEREQUIPMENT NOVEMBER2019
moreat www.facebook.com/NZOPEmagazine
WHEN IT COMES to works of art or antiques, the smart money looks for provenance – where the
object has come from, its record of ownership, its pedigree and authenticity – as well as its quality.
The same can apply to businesses. Take STIHL SHOP Napier, a business which can show provenance aplenty with a rich history and origins that can be traced back to the early 1900s.
More recently, over the last 25 years or so, Craig and Vicki Macmillan have been busy growing the successful Thackeray Street operation.
They took on the STIHL SHOP brand in 2004 and built the business around a highly qualified workshop team, not to mention becoming Napier’s Weber Specialist Dealer.
So, when Marty and Debbie Leach were looking for a local business to invest in, STIHL SHOP Napier ticked all the boxes.
The Leaches may be new to the business but not to Napier, which is where Marty went to school.
After a 25-year career in the Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers, he worked overseas for some time, in and around some of the choicer “hot spots” around the world, before returning to Palmerston North about five years ago in time for the kids’ High School years. Now that Marty and Debbie are empty nesters, the opportunity to move back home to Hawkes Bay was too good to pass up.
Marty having worked for the local council for a while, the Leaches started looking for
a business and quickly narrowed the choice to STIHL SHOP Napier and its impressive track record.
As new owners, the Leaches’ first day
IN MEMORIAM
The STIHL SHOP Napier team (L-R):
Marty Leach; Aidan MacMillan; and Mike Boyd.
of trading was on 17 September and, although Marty candidly admits to being something of a novice when it comes to running a business, the foundations laid by the Macmillans have set the new owners in good stead.
“Over the years, Vicki and Craig built up a large and very loyal clientele,” he says, adding that the former owners have also lent valuable support during the first few months since the handover.
Marty also namechecks for their mutual support and willingness to consider joint initiatives the other local STIHL SHOP owners – informally the “Hawke’s Bay Collective” – Vicki and Hayden Buckman of STIHL SHOP Greenmeadows (also in Napier) and Elizabeth Brough of STIHL SHOP Hastings.
Support from STIHL itself during this
timehasalsobeen“absolutelysuperb”,says Marty, in terms of training and support, on top of the robust, established business framework that comes with the brand.
“In fact, that was that was one of the things that attracted us to STIHL SHOP – the back end support, the software, the brand and the product.”
Looking ahead, the Leaches are looking to build on STIHL SHOP Napier’s existing clientele and current offering, perhaps branching out into or adding depth to certain product types, but only once they’ve nailed the basics of their still quite new venture.
“Now the challenge is for us to learn the business and make it go!” says Marty Leach.
We’ll revisit in STIHL SHOP Napier a year’s time to check on progress.
www.facebook.com/STIHLShopNapier/ n
Remembering Bob Youngman
SAD TO HAVE to mark the passing of Bob Youngman,
aged 90.
Tauranga-born, Bob’s career started as an apprentice motor
mechanic in 1953 but it was in 1972 that he entered our industry when he became Sales & Marketing Director with Richardson McCabe.
Also the start of a lifelong personal and business relationship with Tim Richardson, when Richardson MCabe was sold, in 1981 Bob and Tim pooled their resources to found Youngman Richardson & Co.
Initially distributing Robin engines and Denyo generators with a team of three, today the company has a total staff of 75 and represents no less than 23 international brands.
The company says today of Bob’s passing: “Bob will certainly be missed but his legacy will live on through Youngman Richardson & Co Ltd, a company that goes from strength to strength supplying an extensive range of equipment to the construction and hire sectors.”
Forty years ago, Bob was also
instrumental in establishing the
Hire Industry Association of New
Zealand (HIANZ), which says in tribute: “Bob will be missed but we are grateful for the lasting legacy he has left behind.” n