Local Focus: Auction houses go viral in Hastings

For five years Quentin and Ali de Groot built Kauri House Auctions into a very successful business, but early this year it became too much of a good thing.

"Business was good, it was very strong," Quentin said.

"Even through the Covid times - we managed to navigate a pretty difficult path through there - but we came out on top and last year was a highlight.

"But it also was a very, very busy year and a lot of work.

"The auctions grew from 300-ish lots from when we started and we were looking down the barrel of 700 lots at the end of last year.

"So it was time for a change because the physical side of running an auction was quite a big toll.

"People see the lovely Wednesday room set-up and the Thursday auction day, But there's a lot of admin and the continual flushing of the room, akin to moving house every single week. And that's a big job.

He said concentrating on just higher-value goods wasn't an option.

"You go into a house lot and there are expensive items, but there's also a job to be done.

"People want the service of an auction house that will actually take care of everything for them."

The name of the company was changed to Kauri House Traders.

Auctioneer Peter Maidens' Rata Auctions in Te Awanga joins two other new auction houses in Hastings - House of Tibi and The Auction House.

The loss of Hastings' only auction house was an opportunity for Susete Faustino, who has a background in antiques in Portugal.

With her partner Craig Hatfull they have started House of Tibi in Hastings' Southland Rd, with weekly auctions.

Goods can be inspected in the company warehouse but bidding is done seated in a separate room where photos of all lots are shown.

"We saw an opportunity in the market and we thought it would be a wonderful idea to have an auction house," she said.

"We sell a little bit of anything and everything that a normal person would have in their garage, in their home.

"I enjoy quality and I enjoy especially antiques and collectibles."

Back at Kauri House a retail shop would require a lot less labour so staff were given the bad news, but one employee also saw an opportunity.

Kevin Shipp, who formerly owned an auction house in Carterton, is running fortnightly The Auction House auctions in the Kauri House warehouse.

"I think it's an excellent win-win," he said.

He said auctioneering was in his blood.

"You either love it or hate it. I love it.

"Once I found Dunbar Sloan's down in Wellington. I used to go there every Tuesday, much to my wife's horror, and our lounge used to fill up with a whole load of stuff and then we used to sell it in our cafe."

Also with auctioneering in his blood is Peter Maidens.

The former Kauri House owner is opening Rata auctions in Te Awanga from July 25, with an estate and tool auction due in early August on the corner of Pipi St.

Shipp is not worried about any limits to the growth of his business.

"We will probably be up to 300 lots and more than that, the room might not take.

"And more than that I don't really want to do. It's a life-work balance."

Ali de Groot said the retail business is doing well.

"We've created a space where we can enjoy the weird and wonderful and antique without having to do the box lots and things like that," she said.

"It's attracted a whole new crowd of clientele.

"A lot of people didn't enjoy the auction side of it.

"They wanted to be able to have their immediate retail purchase - if they liked it they came in and they bought it."

While there are now three auction houses in Hastings District, Hawke's Bay's biggest auction house is Napier's Maidens and Foster, which runs weekly general sales and regular antique and collectible sales.