One stop shopping

Gavin and Rosanne Taylor.

It wasn't too long ago that the Far North was collectively concerned about the migration of its people to Australia, heading there in search of jobs and opportunities that weren't available at home. Then along came Christchurch and the people drain continued as trades-people in particular headed south. But, have we turned a corner?

Alastair 'Big Al' Hargrove, manager of Carpet Court in Kerikeri and former manager of Kaitaia, says he believes we are seeing a reverse trend; that people are starting to return and, importantly, new people are arriving, particularly from Auckland.

Pete Hendl from Real Kerikeri agrees. He says rental accommodation is getting hard to find, the cost of renting is going up and there are other indicators.

"Residential buyers are viewing property as an investment now and we're seeing higher-priced houses selling whereas a few years ago they were hard to move."

Before this upward trend started appearing Big Al made what was considered at the time to be a brave move a couple of years ago -with the backing of head office in Auckland he opened a new store in Kaitaia. It was a return to Carpet Court for the country's northernmost town but a move he says has been beneficial even if the small operation has been stretched at times.

Now comes the announcement Carpet Court in Kaitaia is joining forces with Gavin and Rosanne Taylor as joint venture partners and will become Carpet Court Far North which will see Resene Colourshops and Carpet Court operating out of the one shop at 5 Empire Street.

"This will allow us to offer two of the best brands in interior furnishings under the one roof," says Big Al. "And it's a fabulous opportunity for all involved and of course our customers."

In another trend, the number of new builds has gone up in the Far North and house builders are talking positively for the first time in a number of years. And that, of course, means new floor coverings with the Rhino brand being popular.

"When Rhino brand first came on the market it was perceived to be exclusive and expensive but that's certainly not the case," says Big Al.

"People are now putting the competitively-priced Rhino Smartstrand into their rental houses and that removes the necessity to recarpet every three or so years. It's a great product and we love selling it."

In addition to that there is a range of Pure Colour Fibres - carpets that have high stain resistant qualities. Again, these have good warranties. ONE STOP SHOPPING Gavin & Rosanne Taylor Alastair 'Big Al' Hargrove Jackie Thompson

"Our product representative has been touring the country doing stain resistance demos and the results have been quite amazing. Our Pure Colour Fibre ranges show far better stain resistance qualities than Solution Dyed Nylons and that gives us huge comfort when selling our product."

Big Al points out that the purchasing team from Auckland look internationally for new product and have brought some exciting makes and ranges to the market.

"People are prepared to try something different and because our manufacturers stand fully behind their products we are confident to sell it.

So the burgeoning population of the Mid and Far North is well catered for with the opening of Carpet Court Far North in Kaitaia to run alongside Carpet Court in Kerikeri.