NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Personal Finance / Tax

Retailers holding back on some rises as GST hits

By Michael Dickison
NZ Herald·
29 Sep, 2010 04:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

What do you want to know about the rise in GST?
Send us your questions

Shoppers face a 50:50 chance of a sudden bump in prices tomorrow as retailers walk a tightrope between driving away customers and bearing heavier GST costs.

Some shoppers have rushed to buy big-ticket items, such as kitchen sets, before they become hundreds of dollars dearer tomorrow.

The retailers, wary of price-sensitive consumers in a tight economy, yesterday showed a mix of stress, fatigue and secrecy as they prepared for GST to rise to 15 per cent.

The increase will add 2.2 per cent to the cost of goods, some of which will be immediately passed on to consumers and some absorbed in profit margins.

"It's the devil or the deep blue sea. You're utterly afraid of upsetting your customers, but it cuts your margins to not do it," said Briscoe Group managing director Rod Duke.

"Times are a bit tough all around at the moment."

But Briscoes, whose average sale is only about $50, will be less affected than shops that sell expensive goods.

The GST rise will add just over $1 to a $50 item, but it will add almost $100 to a 150cm plasma television.

"It's a 50:50 chance you might pay more," said Noel Leeming chief executive John Journee.

The home electronics store had negotiated with suppliers to avoid increasing prices despite the GST rise, and had succeeded with more than half its product line, he said.

Maintaining price points was vital in the current economic climate, where consumers took longer to carefully consider price differences.

At Mitre 10 Mega's Tauranga store, which has spent two busy weeks updating 33,000 price stickers to include the GST rise, sales of full kitchen sets have soared by 50 per cent.

A $12,000 flat-pack kitchen will cost more than $270 more from tomorrow.

The city's Kitchen Studio store also reported a 25 per cent sales boom in kitchen sets, driven primarily by people who are building houses and know they will soon need one.

A Hamilton vehicle dealer said new cars, averaging $90,000, were selling more than usual ahead of the price rise, which it had not announced yet.

The GST increase will add $2000 to a $90,000 car.

But the pressure is just as heavy on shopowners at the other end of the price spectrum.

"It's really hard to work out what to do," said Tauranga City Lotto owner Balbir Singh.

Mr Singh already sells drinks well below the recommended retail prices, and he said it would be a struggle to raise them.

"The prices are already very high for people. Cigarettes have already gone up, we can't put icecreams up ... maybe lollies," Mr Singh said.

"It'll affect profits, but it's everybody, not just me."

King's Dairy manager Mirza Ghauri said he would wait until new invoices came in before deciding what to do. "Things are hard across the board. We're a bit concerned, but worrying won't help."

Foodtown is preparing to pull an all-nighter tonight to update prices on thousands of products.

Corners of updated price stickers can be seen behind the current ones, and the changes will be revealed tomorrow morning after up to 12 hours of work pulling the old ones off.

Where prices do not rise immediately, increases are expected to filter through over the next six months, often as new products are introduced.

Discover more

Opinion

Are you planning a major purchase before the GST rise?

21 Sep 07:59 PM
New Zealand|politics

Labour's GST policy - readers react

27 Sep 02:31 AM
New Zealand|politics

Labour's fruit, veg GST plan slammed

27 Sep 05:53 AM
Economy

Retailer keeps wary eye on GST while celebrating profit

27 Sep 04:30 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Tax

Economy|official cash rate

Treasury keen on crisis time OCR cuts, not spending and money printing

10 Apr 10:30 PM
Tax

Auckland scaffolding company director sentenced to home detention for $558k tax fraud

03 Apr 10:23 PM
Premium
Business|small business

Borrow-against-your-provisional-tax firm Taxi wins law change, reveals numbers

02 Apr 08:00 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Tax

Treasury keen on crisis time OCR cuts, not spending and money printing

Treasury keen on crisis time OCR cuts, not spending and money printing

10 Apr 10:30 PM

The agency still can't pinpoint the benefits of the Covid-era $55 billion LSAP programme.

Auckland scaffolding company director sentenced to home detention for $558k tax fraud

Auckland scaffolding company director sentenced to home detention for $558k tax fraud

03 Apr 10:23 PM
Premium
Borrow-against-your-provisional-tax firm Taxi wins law change, reveals numbers

Borrow-against-your-provisional-tax firm Taxi wins law change, reveals numbers

02 Apr 08:00 PM
Premium
How to legally reduce your tax bill before year’s end

How to legally reduce your tax bill before year’s end

29 Mar 04:00 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP