Page 10 - HW November 2020

hard news
New lease of life for Mitre 10 in Whangaparāoa
Cam Caithness, MD of Riviera Hardware Holdings, got in touch after the Hardware Awards and updated us on the state of play with Mitre 10 Whangaparāoa.
The store closed during the first lockdown across Alert Levels 4 and 3, Cam saying to Radio NZ at the time: “With deep regret, we have temporarily closed our Whangaparāoa store as we refocus on our core Mitre 10 MEGA businesses and work to rebuild [the company].
“The immense financial impact of Covid-19 on our business has forced us to make some difficult decisions,” he said.
To NZ Hardware Journal he admitted: “Obviously these are incredibly difficult times as we try to understand the
new trading world under very tight government restrictions. The intention certainly isn’t a permanent closure.”
Indeed, the store was due to re-open in early August, only to be dealt another blow by the second lockdown, says Cam today.
“Finally, we got the doors open to our customers on 31 August after making some significant range and merchandise changes where we have focused on the needs of the community.
“The main categories to benefit were the garden categories, landscaping, paint, storage, appliances and housewares,” he says, with feedback from the community being “extremely positive”.
Another variable – this time positive
– was thrown into the mix when in June The Warehouse Group announced it was talking about closing its Whangaparāoa store at Coast Plaza.
With that decision now final and as
a result, says Cam Caithness: “In some positive news, we have recently negotiated an ATL to develop a new Mitre 10 store
at Coast Plaza which will approximately double the size of our retail footprint!”
With the intention to start trading in the new 5,000m2 full-range store for Spring 2021, he says: “It is an exciting time for the Whangaparāoa team and the Riviera Group of Mitre 10 stores.”
The plan is for existing staff to transfer to the new store, which will also create new jobs for people in the local community.
Good news indeed.
Changing times for NZ Safety Blackwoods
NZ SAFETY BLACKWOODS’ new flagship retail store at 732 Great South Road in Penrose, Auckland, signals the start of the brand’s retail expansion plan for the New Zealand market over the coming year.
At 1,000m2 the new store’s footprint is twice as large as the chain’s next largest store and will be its 30th in New Zealand and first of two new stores to open in
the Auckland region, along with the recent relocation of the Frankton store in Hamilton.
Interesting aside, tools, engineering supplies and safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) are being sold alongside new-generation workwear designed
to appeal to customers for whom look
is as important as durability, says NZ Safety Blackwoods, and all in a retail environment which for the first time has mirrors and changing rooms – features that some say would have been unheard of in this industry even just a few years ago.
This trend is apparently being driven in part by an increase in the number of women entering trades – which data from NZ Statistics shows is up 39% from a decade ago.
Andy Antoci, General Manager at NZ Safety Blackwoods, says a new generation of more image-conscious tradies is emerging, along with increasing numbers of women entering trade industries, and their retail face has evolved to meet this changing demand.
“The old school self-image of the typical New Zealand tradie has changed over recent years and this has manifested in a growing design trend for more stylish workwear which was traditionally seen as purely functional.
“The designer label on their work clothing is just as important to them as their casual clothes are and a range of recognisable fashion brands like KingGee, Levis and FXD have developed an offering to meet this need.
“As a retailer, our offering has evolved to provide the service levels to match the positioning of this style of attire which now includes a more customised fitting service,” he says.
Other developments, says Andy Antoci, include a local omnichannel expansion program that will span bricks & mortar as well as e-commerce.
In this respect, the new store will include a touch screen terminal so customers to order from 100,000+ products with the option of delivery to their worksite or collection from one of 30 NZ Safety Blackwoods trade centres nationwide.
“Offering an integrated retail solution provides access to a wider range of products with the minimum time needed to make the purchase,” he says, adding that the number of customers using click & collect has doubled in recent months.
https://nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz/
8 NZHJ | NOVEMBER 2020
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