Working Style has expanded to a larger store on Wellington's Johnston St. Photo / Supplied.
As Wellington continues to grapple with a contracting local economy, falling consumer spending and a slew of retail closures, one high-end clothing store says its recent expansion is paying dividends.
Premium menswear retailer Working Style was founded in Auckland in 1987 and has operated a Wellington store since 1992.
When its Woodward St lease came up for renewal earlier this year, director Chris Dobbs decided it was time to move on from their site of 33 years, choosing to “reinvest in Wellington” and expand to a larger location.
About 50 shops reportedly closed between Courtenay Place and Lambton Quay last year, with fashion retailers David Jones, Hurricane Denim and Gubb’s Shoes leaving the area or closing down altogether.
Nationwide retail spending continues to be low, especially in the apparel category, according to Stats NZ’s latest electronic card data.
Dobbs said since opening the new store in February sales are doing well and he’s been pleased with the response.
“We’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Dobbs believes Wellington represents a key part of their market as an important centre for people to do business and work with government.
“It will always be our capital city.
”For our business and our brand, we feel that it will always have a really important place in our network and in our DNA."
The company has a strong list of Wellington clients, dressing the city’s “captains of industry”, public service bosses and politicians, Dobbs said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s classic navy suits are said to be Working Style – although “he doesn’t buy enough”, Dobbs jokes.
Based in Auckland, Dobbs recalled a recent trip to Wellington which highlighted just how much people’s working routines had changed.
“I arrived in Wellington and I thought, ‘where the f*** is everyone?’.”
He said Lambton Quay at 8am was not what it used to be.
“People are just not rushing into Wellington at 8 o’clock and rushing out at 5 o’clock, it’s just different now, which we’re experiencing right across our network.”
He believes it’s not unique to just one city, but that the “whole world has changed” post-Covid when it comes to retail, with the rise of working from home.
With many of their clientele in the public sector, Government job cuts did impact Working Style’s Wellington sales.
“That’s been part of the challenge of Wellington for sure, we’ve had to sort of recreate ourselves and our product ranges have changed massively over the last 34 years in terms of a lot more casual wear”, Dobbs said.
While customers continue to purchase suits for work, trends are changing, with people opting for more casual 9-5 attire like sports coats and casual trousers. Suit sales are increasing for special occasions like weddings and parties, Dobbs said.
“The younger market in the early workforce are still embracing buying their first suit, having a suit is still important to that market. We’ve found ourselves a number of times over the last couple of years understocked in suits, we haven’t had enough, so you’ve got to be careful not to be too pessimistic on things.”
Working Style’s focus on building a relationship with its customers, rather than being transactional, is key to their success Dobbs believes.
He said it’s that “doctor and patient” type of relationship which has kept the business in good stead as the sector battles its challenges.
The new store on Johnston St just off Lambton Quay was most recently the home to homewares store Cranfields, which closed in 2024 after 33 years.
At the time, owner Nicola Cranfield blamed uncertainty caused by the now-scrapped Let’s Get Wellington moving project which proposed dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes and wider footpaths to prioritise walking and cycling along Lambton Quay.
Cranfield told the Herald at the time she didn’t want to spend any more time fighting her own council over a plan to ban cars from the heart of Wellington, deciding to take the store online only.
It’s a sentiment Dobbs agrees with.
“After the trauma of Covid, we really just need to be left alone to get on with it, to rebuild our balance sheets and create the prosperity we need for the next decade.”
Wellington is facing a slower economic recovery than many other centres, but Dobbs is confident the city will bounce back.
He said the booming primary sector is a sign of better things to come.
“The money will trickle back into the cities”, he said.
Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.