Spring brings out budding retailers | Stuff.co.nz

ROBERT CHARLES

Craft Haven owners Brownyn Aish and Deborah Rawson have realised their dream of 15 years by opening a craft store.

Now is the time for New Plymouth businesses and shoppers to take ownership of their city, says the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber is urging people to take part in a New Plymouth District Council survey which set out last week to get public feedback on the city's central area.

By finding out what residents, property owners, businesses and shoppers like and dislike, the council would be able to plan and design the city accordingly.

Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chairman and managing partner of PwC Taranaki, Grant McQuoid, said the survey was a unique opportunity for the public to influence the look and feel of New Plymouth.

"Both the business community and the community itself actually need to respond to that and contribute ideas and innovation," McQuoid said.

All parties had a duty to pitch their ideas, he said.

"Vibrancy is the responsibility of the council, the community and retailers as a collective."

Two weeks ago, a Taranaki Daily News investigation looked at all the development going on in New Plymouth, the money involved and what it meant for the city.

This week the focus is on new small to medium businesses as several fresh faces show up in the New Plymouth business community.

In the past eight weeks, at least 10 new businesses have opened in New Plymouth, from restaurants and retail shops to auction houses and electrical stores.

But rather than reflecting better economic conditions, McQuoid said it's just a case of better weather.

Traditionally the best time to open a small business was around spring when the weather was starting to improve and Christmas was on the horizon, he said.

"I would suggest that's actually a strong component of it."

Small to medium enterprises make up 70 per cent of New Zealand businesses, and the new additions to New Plymouth were also testament to that, he said.

"We're a nation of small businesses."

In general, retailers and service sector businesses were finding that things were still a bit stagnant, he said.

"It's flat and pretty quiet at the moment.

"I think that reflects the economic situation where people are still cautious in their spending."

Despite challenging conditions businesses were hanging in there.

An informal survey from Queen St to Gover St showed 122 shop fronts were tenanted and 11 were empty.

The recently renovated Top Town complex, however, was somewhat of a white elephant, with six spaces tenanted and six empty.

Membership numbers for the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce were healthy, with 560 New Plymouth businesses registered.

McQuoid said Business After 5 events were more popular than ever with places at the most recent BA5 filling up within hours.

"I think it's a sign that the business community is talking to each other and the business community is positive in what they're doing and interested in moving business forward," he said.

To succeed during the recession, businesses needed to know what their customers wanted and to cater to those needs, he said.

"Business comes back to the fundamentals - who is your customer, what do they want and how can you do it for them in an outstanding way?"

Two women striving to meet their customers' needs are Lisa England and Carol Rodger, who recently opened concept store Tempt.

The pair came up with the idea for Tempt about 18 months ago because they saw a gap in the New Plymouth market for a high-end homeware, furniture and lighting store, England said.

"A lot of people thought we were a bit crazy opening in what is apparently still a recession," England said.

They called Tempt a concept store because it sold a diverse range of goods from clothing to bird feeders.

They decided to set up Tempt in Devon St West by the White Hart "because it's the cool end of town".

England also owned Verge Gallery and a shop in Taupo.

The first two weeks of trading had been positive, with the pair having to constantly restock the shop.

Around the corner in King St is Blossom Beauty and Day Spa, another new start-up with an owner who is 100 per cent focused on client satisfaction.

On October 1, Lala Shin went out on a limb and opened her beauty salon opposite Puke Ariki. Trained at the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, Shin moved to New Plymouth from South Korea about 10 years ago.

She was working at another New Plymouth day spa but after it closed down she had to reconsider her options.

Shin said she thought about heading to a bigger city but didn't want to leave Taranaki and all the friends she had made.

"Everybody was saying, 'Don't leave New Plymouth'," Shin said.

"I really like New Plymouth, I have a lot of friends here."

On her opening night, about 140 friends and clients turned out in support, Shin said.

Despite trying economic conditions and plenty of competition in the beauty salon market, Shin decided to open her own place anyway.

"I'm not thinking about economics, I'm only thinking about my client."

Blossom, which offers facial therapy, makeup, waxing, massage and tanning, is fitted out in South Korean furniture and decor.

Shin said it took her about six months to find the right location for Blossom.

"I wanted quiet and the shops all around here are all quiet."

Shin said if her day spa continued to blossom, she would look at employing an extra staff member.

In Devon St East, the old Bond and Bond store has finally found a new tenant in Active Electrical Suppliers.

Director Gary Jackson said Active Electrical Suppliers was an independently owned, trade- focused wholesaler supplying electrical equipment to contractors.

Jackson said that since opening last month, Active Electrical Suppliers had been surprisingly busy.

"It's been a really good response in the first four weeks," Jackson said.

"We've been quite busy - ahead of where I expected it to be at this point in time."

The old Bond and Bond building, which had been empty for about 12 months, was a great space for the store because it was large, accessible and in a service industry area of town.

"It's come up really sharp for the business that we're in."

Outside the central business district, sisters-in-law Brownyn Aish and Deborah Rawson have opened Craft Haven in a refurbished church at 301 Carrington St.

Craft Haven is both a retail store, craft club and learning centre for people wanting to try their hand at "crafting".

"We're doing a new take on some old crafts," Rawson said.

As well as providing all the materials needed for arts and crafts, Craft Haven offers workshops for scrapbooking, making journals, crochet, knitting, jewellery making, embroidery, patchwork and photography, to name just a few.

"We're passionate about any sort of crafting," Rawson said.

The crafty business was the realisation of a 15-year dream, she said.

Craft Haven was also a space where people could go to do their own arts and crafts in an environment where all materials were on hand.

Use of a table costs $5 for two hours or $10 a day.

"It's a drop-in place for crafters."

Craft Haven is open from Tuesday to Friday and all details and updates can be found on the business' Facebook page.

Rawson said they did their best to stock all the latest products and if someone asked for something particularly hard to find they would try to source it.

"If you can't find something, come see us.

"We've got new stock coming in every week."

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/business/7846550/Spring-brings-out-budding-retailers

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