Page 58 - HW October 2020 NEW

then as now
Then as now – October 2010
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IN OUR OCTOBER magazine 10 years ago, we were reporting on the after- effects of September 4’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake (1).
According to PayMark at the time, sales at Canterbury’s hardware stores that month were up 11% on 2009, due to people making repairs post-quake.
Without wishing to be seen as ambulance-chasing, at the time we
asked suppliers if they were expecting this effect to continue... While many certainly looked on the event as an opportunity,
equally they also all expressed sympathy to those who had suffered loss and damage as a result of the quake.
Take Sika’s Tony Smith, who is originally from Christchurch. His father’s house was damaged in the 2010 quake: “It was a lot worse than I thought it would be,” he said at the time. “It’s very sad for all involved.
“But, for the industry, it will be a bit of a silver lining. For us, the rise won’t be product-specific. We’re certainly not expecting to sell more sealant as a result.
“But we will see a general lift in the Christchurch market once everyone has got over the trauma.”
Interesting that, in commemorating the disaster that is still affecting the Canterbury region 10 years on, we might reflect that the effects of Covid-19 have brought a similar lift to the home improvement channel.
AWARDS TIME 10 YEARS AGO
Our October 2010 magazine was written weeks before that year’s Hardware Awards, held in the first week of the month and back after a year on hold.
As a result we could only highlight the Finalists, some of whom I mentioned in the last “Then as now” column.
Among these, you can see a comprehensive range of the brands active in our marketplace, corporates and cooperatives alike.
But we weren’t alone that year in seeking to celebrate high achievers in the industry.
Indeed, at its 2010 conference, BuildLink too recognised its own stars for the first time (2).
From 2010, the inaugural BuildLink Awards winners (L-R): Akarana Timbers (received by John Lang); Matamata Timber & Hardware (Milton James); Lumberland (Simon Cavanagh); and Hurricane Wholesale (Stuart Chatfield).
2CEO Kevin Marevich admitted back then: “Despite having done these things previously, I underestimated the level of appreciation people have for being recognised in this manner”.
Saying that the Awards would form an increasingly central part of BuildLink’s conference programme in years to come, BuildLink’s Richard Lewis agreed: “We initiated the awards after realising how important it is to set goals and recognise achievements within the group.”
BUNNINGS TAKES ON THE TRADE
10 years ago we had just caught up with Bunnings NZ General Manager, Rod Caust, to find out about the latest financial year’s result.
Rod said he was “happy with the overall growth of the NZ business. We saw consistent growth in DIY sales throughout the whole year, store on store included, and extremely strong second half performance with commercial sales that exceeded our projections and the overall performance of the market.”
In respect of Bunnings’ and its newish dedicated trade offering, Rod described the East Tamaki Trade Centre as “a huge success” that had “overachieved on our expectations.”
Indeed, buoyed by this positive reaction from the market, he signalled quite plainly that the brand was “very keen to explore other locations around the country.”
And so it turned out (3).
3
Bunnings’ Trade Centres have proliferated in the last 10 years.
56 NZHJ | OCTOBER 2020
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