Two Kaitaia business are flat out

If you've run out of coffee mugs, Ian Walker will be very happy to sell you one online. Picture / Supplied

Ian and Anne Walker are not psychic. Two years ago they had no idea that businesses the length and breadth of the country would be flattened, some perhaps into extinction, by a virus no one had ever heard of. But the work they had done by 2018 has put them in a strong position to ride out Covid-19, and to prosper even more when the crisis is over.

The couple invested heavily, not least in terms of time, in developing an online sales capacity for their two Kaitaia stores, Folders and Marston Moor. It did not take long to start building a national client base, but Covid-19 has really proved the value of that innovation.

All staff at both businesses were not only on full pay and fully-employed, Mr Walker said, but those at Folders were working seven days a week and those at Marston Moor (formerly Paper Plus) were working six. And they had their work cut out to keep up.

"It's going really well at both shops at the moment," Mr Walker said.

"Everyone is flat out. We've gone from 10 or 11 orders a day, local and from around the country, to 50 a day for each store.

"Hopefully this will get us through the lockdown. We're not getting a huge turnover, but our ability to sell to customers around the country will hopefully get us through."

April's turnover was 50 per cent of budget, not a bad result given the original expectation of zero. And he had big hopes for the future post-Covid.

"A lot of people will have bought online for the first time, and will have been very happy with the experience," he said.

"I expect to see exponential growth in online sales from now on."

While many retailers around the country were still closed, or surviving on minimal contactless sales, the Walkers' product range had grown to around 7000. Folders was looking "half empty," but that was because goods were moving.

"It's been a lot of work but it's really paying off now," Mr Walker said.

People were buying across the range, one advantage Folders had in Kaitaia being that it held product, and could deliver on a same day basis.

"If your washing machine packs up we can get a new one to you today," he said.

And a lot of smaller items, like cables, toasters and kettles were being dispatched around the country.

"We've sold truckloads of breadmakers, too," he added.

For reasons that he could not begin to explain, Marston Moor was also continuing to do a roaring trade in coffee mugs.

"I don't know what people do with them, but we sell thousands of them, all around the country. Perhaps they're like socks and pens — they just disappear," he said.

"The biggest problem has been freight companies not delivering. Some suppliers closed down and some refuse to send goods north of Kerikeri. I don't understand why. It's not as if we can't fill a truck — we can. For some reason we're still not treated very well up here in Kaitaia."

LifelineThe move to establish an online customer base had been prompted by the additional challenge to running a small business in Kaitaia posed by the internet, particularly for Marston Moor, where demand for stationery and books declined and alternative ways of buying became available. However, Mr Walker said in 2018, the technology that had made life harder was also a lifeline, offering not only the opportunity for a revival but a real opportunity to grow.

"We believe the internet provides a viable future for small, independent rural retailers, like ourselves, to remain relevant and profitable in what has become a very disruptive industry dominated by big corporates," he said.

"While many retailers bemoan loss of business to online competitors, we have seen the opportunity to grow our local business by accessing a larger market."

Marston Moor's customer base had expanded from 6000 to potentially 4.6 million, he said. By 2018 it had established an online customer database of more than 3000 as the result of the first attempt at going online with its subsequently superseded online office supply business (www.officecentre.co.nz).

"For some years now we have sold office supplies throughout the country and across a huge range of customers, from the individual to the big corporates, government departments and universities.

"Now our online customers can also access books, homewares, gifts, and some technology on top of their stationery needs," Mr Walker said.

"Since taking our first steps into the world of internet, sales online have grown to more than 30 per cent of the store's total turnover. Even better, 50 per cent of that business is from outside the area, bringing much-needed wealth back into our local economy.

"A modern online presence is also of great benefit to our local customers, who can go online, check what we've got, what we can get, whether it is in stock, and either have it delivered or pick it up in-store.

"They will be able to see our prices are as good as anywhere else, if not better, and view our specials before entering the store.

"From our experience we would recommend other Kaitaia businesses seriously consider investing in online, if they are not already involved. It works for the little guy too."