The Tumu building supplies store in Hastings (pictured) which will soon change hands along with five other stores. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Tumu building supplies store in Hastings (pictured) which will soon change hands along with five other stores. Photo / Paul Taylor
A big player in the Hawke's Bay timber and building industry, Tumu Group, is selling six of its stores to PlaceMakers' parent company.
Tumu stores in Gisborne, Napier, Hastings, Havelock North, Dannevirke and Masterton are changing hands after the sale was cleared by the Commerce Commission.
The stores sell avariety of building materials and were formerly known as Tumu ITM shops.
Fletcher Distribution Ltd (FDL) which operates PlaceMakers across New Zealand has purchased the six stores for an undisclosed amount, as well as the Tumu Frame and Truss plant in Hastings.
The move will see over 200 staff shift across to FDL and the sale will settle on August 31.
All staff will remain on their current employment contracts as part of the transition.
FDL stated in an application to the Commerce Commission that the purchase would help fill a gap in its network as "PlaceMakers currently has a limited presence on the East Coast".
FDL plans to keep the Tumu branding "as is" for now and has access to the Tumu brand for three years under the sale agreement.
Tumu has retained ownership of the properties themselves for five of the stores.
Timber at the Tumu store in Hastings. Photo / NZME
Tumu Group - which began in Dannevirke in 1975 and is still owned by the O'Sullivan family - currently employs about 700 staff across all its businesses and brands.
"It is important to be clear that Tumu Timbers (our bins and pallets manufacturer and timber wholesaler) is not included in the sale and this is very much business as usual," Tumu Group director Barry O'Sullivan said.
"This sale is part of our strategy to focus on our timber manufacturing and processing businesses as well as to fund growth in our property development business Tumu Developments.
"We also have interests in the national distribution of building materials which we will also be focusing on for expansion."
Fletcher Building chief executive Bruce McEwen said they were committed to maintaining "the great Tumu culture and strong customer service".
"We have committed to maintaining as much of the current business operations as possible," he said.
"Fletcher Building, through its PlaceMakers business, is largely under-represented in the region and currently has no presence in Gisborne or Dannevirke.
