Sales warming up as cold weather sets in

Heaters, wood burners and gas fireplaces are flying out the doors. Photo / Thinkstock

Cold weather is proving good business for some companies.

Heaters and wood burners, gas fireplaces, insulation materials and heat pumps are flying out the door of DIY, specialist and hardware stores.

Businesses providing services through the Government's Warm Up New Zealand campaign are also enjoying brisker trade and with frosts hitting sea level areas of Auckland, consumers are opening their wallets.

Dave Elliott, Mitre 10's marketing general manager, said sales of locally made wood burners and low-cost panel heaters were up nationally.

Demand for wood burners was being driven mainly from Otago and Canterbury, going into new homes and being retrofitted to replace old wood burners.

This country led the world for standards of efficiency and environmental protection, he said, and burning wood released only the volume of carbon that would escape into the atmosphere if the tress were left to rot naturally.

Ali Scott, director of Real Fires on the corner of Archers Rd and Poland Rd in Glenfield, said sales were about 20 per cent up in the last two months and the products that her business made were going into new and existing houses. "The renovation market has picked up again and new homes are increasing in volumes," she said.

Tony Te Au, general manager of Tasman Insulation, said people wanted warmer homes and Warm Up New Zealand had helped drive sales.

"That provided that added incentive for homeowners to look at the options around insulating their home," he said.