Multinational retail chain Harvey Norman is to open a Masterton store that will employ up to 40 people.
Neil Berryman, Harvey Norman finance and accounting manager, said from Auckland yesterday that the Masterton store will cover an area of up to 4000sqm and will join 22 other Harvey Norman operations across
the country.
The store "will not be open this side of Christmas", he said, but will be trading early next year and there will be from 35 to 40 people employed at the Masterton store.
He said negotiations are now under way to secure a site although he would not confirm that the location under discussion was in the central business district of the town.
He said the store would "be a full format" franchise that will sell electrical goods, computers and communications, small appliances, furniture, bedding and Manchester, home improvements, lighting, carpet and flooring, and bathroom hardware.
Mr Berryman said the company has been looking for a Masterton site for several years and that during that time there had been an increasing number of deliveries to Wairarapa buyers from Harvey Norman stores in Wellington and Palmerston North.
The Harvey Norman parent company has holdings in other retail operations, he said, including Rebel Sports in New Zealand and also boasts franchise stores in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland, and Slovenia.
There are now two other Harvey Norman stores under construction in New Zealand centres, he said.
