Page 50 - HW FEB 2021

then as now
Brian and partner Anne celebrate ITM’s support of Emirates Team NZ.
And that helped me because all my profit used to stop at the gate. “And in all the time I’ve been in business, I’ve never had an
overdue account.
“I always paid at the end of every month. I never I never carried a
debt from one month to the other.
“I mean there was times in the early stages it was pretty tight. “But at the end of the day, I started every month fresh and I paid
my tax when it was due.”
Happy to recognise he’s “old school”, but in a good way, Brian
recalls: “I was one of six siblings and mum and dad always taught me, if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.
And now, despite having sold the business, he’s “still a bit like that today.”
JOINING THE SOCIETY
With ITM established in 1991, aiming to open the market up so independent builders’ merchants could actually secure key staple building products at reasonable prices, Brian Frampton was the fourteenth member.
Joining ITM was a crucial move: “We’d never have survived,” he says. “I’d seen timber companies in the Wellington area, no different from myself in the early days, come and go.
“There were something like 27 different building supplies companies from Upper Hutt to Plimmerton in those days and now there’s only a handful.
“You know they all told me I’d never survive either, but little did they know the Fox Terrier in me!”
Paying tribute to Kevin Marevich for his hard work establishing ITM – and indeed to subsequent CEOs – Brian Frampton says he has been “very, very proud to be an ITM member.
“I don’t think I ever went to work one day in 27 years and never wore ITM clothing,” he says.
Having enjoyed being part of ITM “immensely”, Brian admits he’s going to miss the camaraderie but at the same time knows that a steady injection of younger members – “the next breed” – is probably required to take ITM forward.
And, despite increasing interest from other banners in getting a slice of the trade pie, Brian Frampton is optimistic that ITM and its unique range of members will remain relevant.
Digging gently at the true corporates, Brian firmly believes that “ITM is the best. Everyone tells us we’re the easiest to
deal with and, being small and business owners, you’re dealing with the mechanic, not the oily rag.”
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Talking of owners, wanting
to call time on his career in building supplies, Brian’s family declined the opportunity to take
the business on.
So, having started dialogue in April last year with the process
taking until November to become final, the new owner of the business, soon to be renamed Toa ITM, is Porirua-based iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
Brian Frampton is extremely positive about what he knows of the iwi’s plans but we’ll leave it to Toa ITM at a later date perhaps to reveal what’s afoot for the business going forward.
In which respect, recognising how lucky in many respects the industry has been that the arrows have pointed upwards, not downwards, since New Zealand came out of lockdown, Brian says: “No-one ever thought the industry was going to go where it has gone right now.
“I hope it doesn’t slow down, but you never know what’s going to happen once the world markets open up.”
ITM CEO Darrin Hughes adds: “We are sad to say farewell to Brian – a real character of the industry and a stalwart of ITM.
“Although Tawa was a small ITM store, Brian punched above his stores weight with the connections he had within the ITM family and would often be the voice of the members at our National Day meetings.
“Although I have only personally known Brian for the past three years, we connected quickly and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with him when he would regale me stories of the days of old at ITM.
“Behind the fun and humorous facade, Brian always had
the best interest of the co-operative at heart and this is really shown with his desire to welcome amd smooth the pathway for the new owners of his store.”
As for himself, in terms of future business, Brian Frampton has a modest portfolio of commercial buildings.
And in terms of lifestyle there’s a house in Australia that he hopes to get over to sometime soon, he’s going to do a lot more fishing and he and partner Anne will start touring New Zealand in his camper van.
“It’s the best country in the world. You don’t have to travel far – and I’ve done a bit of travelling – to know we live in the best country in the world!”
And so say all of us. Enjoy!
48 NZHJ | FEBRUARY 2021
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