The new Silverdale store with staff, all ready to go.
Silverdale is getting a splash of black and orange with today’s opening of a 1.1ha new $30 million-plus Mitre 10 Mega store where customers can expect some differences.
Jules Lloyd-Jones, chief marketing officer for the co-operative, said this would be the 85th store and will have a footprint of more than 11,000sq m.
That’s around the same size as Westgate’s Costco Wholesale.
A number of changes were made in design, layout and how goods are presented, she said. Digital shelf labels, a new style of showroom and a treehouse-style playground built mostly of timber are features of the shop at 35 Colin Chester Dr.
A new carpark layout designed more with pedestrians in mind and a garden centre which combines plants with landscaping features are two of the changes.
The shop opens at 7am today.
And it’s not like milk at the supermarket - in the farthest reaches. The layout has been changed from other stores to highlight the most popular categories of paint, tools, garden supplies, fixings and fastenings, and outdoor living, Lloyd-Jones said.
“For example, a new display of landscaping supplies is within the garden centre so customers can compare different decking, fencing, or pebble finishes to complement their chosen plants and vice versa,” Lloyd-Jones said.
“This new store is piloting a number of new customer experiences, in response to extensive customer research and insights. Some changes are less obvious, like a safer and more pedestrian-friendly carpark and some will transform the customer experience, like the design guide and style finder digital experience,” Lloyd-Jones said.
The new 1.1ha shop is at the Highgate Business Park and is the first store built since 2016 in a region where Mitre 10 had not previously been.
Around 120 staff will work there - and expect some good forwards and backs because recruitment drives were held at the local rugby club.
Grant Fraser, chief legal and property officer at Mitre 10, said the 2.4ha site is owned by Mitre 10 Holdings, a subsidiary of the cooperative. That business has leased the site to the shop owner.
The building and land is worth more than $30 million, he said. Auckland Council valued the land at $7.4m in 2021 when it was a vacant site. Fraser said the development had significantly enhanced that.
“We’ve used the opportunity to bring innovations, including the access via the carpark but also new customer experiences,” he said. He hopes it will get a five-star Green Star rating due to about 120 roof solar panels to generate most of the electricity.
Electronic labels are also being used on shelves throughout the store. Fraser said this would help staff update pricing and product ranges remotely.
Gibson O’Connor was the main contractor on the store’s development. Auckland Civil did the groundwork, Fraser said.
Construction took just over 12 months. The main retail area is 6000sq m. The garden centre 2000sq m with a 1600sq m timber yard and 232 car parks.
Fraser said since 2016, the business had opened seven new stores “and we’ve had at least another five to six expanded or redeveloped including plans for Timaru as well as work carried out previously at Westgate and Mt Wellington”.
A Columbus Café will also operate within the premises, Lloyd-Jones said.
Rival national chain Bunnings this week announced it was consulting with staff on 100 head office layoffs. Ben Camire, director of store operations in New Zealand, said nothing was decided yet because a consultation phase had begun. The business owned by ASX-listed Westfarmers employs more than 5000 people in this country, and although no exact numbers were given for the layoff proposal, the Herald understands around 100 support roles could be affected.
That chain’s headquarters is at Central Park, owned by Oyster Capital, which has tried to sell that office precinct. Bunnings has 42 stores in NZ, nine trade centres and a distribution centre.
Bunnings already operates at Silverdale. A spokesman for that chain said today: “We have a Silverdale warehouse store and trade centre, both opened in August 2013. The warehouse is approximately 11,400 sq m. The trade centre is approximately 2000sq m, but has a large yard.”
Mitre 10′s Loyd-Jones said Interior Living kitchens would be sold to trade and DIY customers from the new Silverdale store. Fraser said that brand had only been introduced in the last two to three months.
Those would be delivered either fully assembled or as a flat pack bundle.
Trade customer needs have been prioritised. The location of the timber yard, drive-through and heavy-end hardware, electrical and plumbing supplies had been considered to minimise time in the store.
The top 100 building product lines are racked at waist height and offices are available for trade customers to meet clients and suppliers.
The new building is owned and operated by Riviera Hardware Holdings which also owns the Warkworth, Whangaparāoa, Albany and New Lynn Mitre 10 Mega stores. Trade customer accounts can be used across the district, at whichever location is closest to a building site, Lloyd-Jones said.
Riviera Hardware Holdings says it trades as Mitre 10 Mega Albany, New Lynn & Warkworth and Mitre 10 Whangaparaoa. It was established in 2009.
Its first store was Mitre 10 Mega Warkworth.
It now consists of four Mitre 10 stores, Riviera Prenail, which is a frame and truss manufacturing plant, four Columbus Coffee cafes, Riviera Imports and the Riviera Distribution Centre.
The company employs more than 550 staff and is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing independent retail operations, it says on LinkedIn.
“Full of innovation, this store is leading into the future,” Riveria says of the new Silverdale store.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
The store is one of the most profitable and popular in Foodstuffs' North Island co-op.