The Homestore Newmarket at the Rialto Centre, 163 Broadway. Photo / Supplied
The Homestore Newmarket — a high-end operation as renowned for its vast product range as for having a prime location — has been placed on the market for sale.
Link Business broking agent Richard Ridler is selling the business, which operates within leased premises at the Rialto Centre.
He believes it will offer a healthy future return to any prospective new owner.
Ridler points out that the present owners are selling and moving on after systematically building up the business and refining its systems for almost 20 years.
"After sharing the helm all that time, they are keen to pursue fresh opportunities. So an already successful store, boasting a massive footprint at 163 Broadway, will be available to take to the next level," says Ridler.
"A location within the Rialto Centre brings a clear advantage in showcasing the quality homeware, appliances and linen products on sale. The sheer breadth of the product range sets The Homestore Newmarket apart from its competitors."
Ridler cites excellent foot traffic, with folk constantly attracted to the Rialto Centre, whose tenants include Bendon, Eurostyle, Specsavers and Kathmandu.
"Of course, there's the cinema itself and a large food court, including the likes of Nandos and Subway," he adds.
The Homestore holds a distinctive position in the Auckland market, having among the largest ranges of high-end homeware, linen, dinnerware and kitchenware.
"This business has experienced and knowledgeable staff, who are second-to-none in the industry. There's also a stunning array of high-quality, attractive and eye-catching displays.
"Many customers are located within walking distance or live in other affluent suburbs a relatively short drive from the store.
"The owners have utilised several effective forms of promotion, for example, optimising search engines for their website and establishing a significant database of high-quality repeat customers.
"The Homestore has about 100 suppliers, of which 20-30 are significant suppliers to the business. They regularly buy from another 40-50, with the balance being smaller suppliers dealt with less frequently.
"The store has multiple large product ranges — which is something shoppers prize."
Ridler says a wide range of opportunities exist to increase revenue of the business, including:
• Marketing and promotional subsidies are available from larger suppliers — something the present owners believe they haven't fully taken advantage of.
• The owners have attended various commercial shows and expos that are proven to be lucrative for the business, for example, one of these turned over $80k, over a four-day-period. Weddings provide much business through wedding registries, ranging from $2000-$10,000 each. But the Homestore has not attended these shows and expos for several years, despite the vendors constantly being approached to do so. Hence this would be as an easy way to increase revenue and profile for the business.
• The vendors have not taken full advantage of the marketing subsidies and volume-based discounts, which are offered by their suppliers.
• A significant opportunity exists to reduce costs and improve gross margin through indenting core stock direct from suppliers' overseas factories.
Aside from the New Zealand gift fairs, an opportunity exists to source new products/ranges from overseas at the annual German Gift Fair. There are additional gift fairs in the US, UK and Melbourne.
• With the Newmarket store, comes a territory that enables the new owner to expand to other centres.
•Additional retail stores could be opened on Auckland's North Shore, Tauranga, Hamilton and a re-opening at Sylvia Park.
At a glance:
• Hours: Monday to Thursday, 9.30am-5.30pm; Friday, 9.30am-6pm; Saturday, 9am 5pm; Sunday, 10am-4pm.
• Parking: Customers receive 1-hour free parking in the Rialto car park building.
• Lease: The present lease commenced on July 1, 2017 and expires June 30, 2022.
• Owner involvement: Owners currently work part-time, Monday to Friday, putting in about 20-25 hours respectively.