Rebel Sport setting up shop in Kerikeri, its second Northland outlet

Construction of the Rebel Sport store in Kerikeri is well under way. Photo / Peter de Graaf

National sporting goods retailer Rebel Sport will open a new outlet in Kerikeri this summer, its second in Northland after Whangarei.

Construction of the new store is well under way next to Briscoes and behind Kerikeri police station.

Rebel Sport and Briscoes are owned by the Briscoe Group, whose managing director, Rod Duke, said the company aimed to open the new store in mid-February.

Read more business stories here: Whangarei cafe scene pioneer returns, sets up Smith & Local
Kafe, Waterman's World to open on Whangarei's Hatea Loop shared pathway
Major upgrade for BP Connect Wylies petrol station in Whangarei

At just over 900sq m it would be comparable in size to the Taupo store and considerably smaller than Whangarei.

Mr Duke said he had been surprised by how well Briscoes had performed since it opened in Kerikeri in 2013 in the former Countdown supermarket.

That, along with feedback from customers tired of driving 90km to Whangarei to do their shopping, had spurred the company to open a Rebel Sport store as well.

The company's landlord in Kerikeri also owned the adjacent, undeveloped land and was putting up the concrete tilt slab building, which would then be leased to the Briscoe Group.

The store would offer seven to 10 jobs in a mix of full-time and part-time positions with more in summer. Access would be from the current Briscoes car park and from Clark Rd, a side street off the New World roundabout.

The new store would share storage, staff areas and other back-room functions with Briscoes, using a "two restaurants, one kitchen model" which reduced overheads and made both stores more profitable.

Mr Duke said the company made a conscious decision to open the store in Kerikeri rather than the big-box retail area of Waipapa where most big retail chains are located.