Freedom Furniture opens pop up shop in Northland

Freedom Furniture Waipapa store manager Ian Mitchell with sales consultants, from left, Samantha O'Brien, Jessica Thompson and Sandra Davidson. Photo / Supplied

A Freedom Furniture shop has arrived in Northland.

The furniture and homewares retailer with 16 stores nationwide has opened a pop up shop in Waipapa, near Kerikeri.

Freedom's national marketing manager Dana Bezzant said Northland's online shopping community was behind the opening.

"Through our online purchases and customer orders database, we identified a portion of customers were based in the Northland region [including both the Bay of Islands and Whangarei]. So when the opportunity to open a store in Waipapa came up late last year, we jumped on the opportunity," she said.

Ms Bezzant said the opening was a vote of confidence in the Northland economy.

"We have employed four local staff and intend to have the pop-up store open to the community for a minimum of one year.

"The Freedom Furniture brand sources exclusive ranges from leading manufacturers around the world, these are available in all our stores throughout New Zealand and Australia. The Waipapa pop-up store is a smaller format store, showcasing our bestselling lines," she said.

Four staff are employed at the pop-up store, running the fort alongside store manager Ian Mitchell who had previously lived in Northland. Ms Bezzant said it was always his dream to raise his young family here.

"We are thrilled to offer design-savvy locals an instore experience alongside our online shopping option.

"Nothing quite beats the feeling of testing out the comfort of a new sofa or touch of a faux fur throw, bringing a customised experience to first home buyers, home renovators or those simply seeking a living room refresh," she said.

Freedom Furniture began in 1981 in Australia and 1996 in New Zealand where there are 10 company stores, two pop-ups and four franchises.