Rotorua businesses share premises to save costs

Hair dressing and homewares may not seem to have a lot in common, but they are proving a successful combination for two Rotorua businesses.
Habitat ReStore second-hand shop on Edmund Rd has teamed up with hairdresser Lesley Mitchell to capitalise on unused space and offer customers an additional service at a reasonable price.
Store manager Phil Badger said the arrangement had been in place for about a year and, despite keeping things low key, it had brought more people into the shop.
"It seems to be working and will be even better as we raise the overall profile of Habitat in the coming months."
The store sells second-hand homeware and furniture to people setting up home on a budget.
This raises money to build homes for the needy through the Habitat for Humanity programme.

For Mitchell, the arrangement provides a space to work from, without the expense of setting up a full salon, helping to keep prices down for residents in the lower socio-economic brackets.
Sharing premises is proving successful for a number of local businesses.
When The Pheasant Plucker's Ivan Purvis advertised for a chef to set up his or her own business from his kitchen, he was overwhelmed by the 400-plus responses he received.
"I have been inundated. When my last chef left, I decided not to run a kitchen - that's not where my interest or expertise is."
But it seemed a shame to leave the kitchen unused and he came up with the idea of bringing in a separate business to operate it.
Purvis said setting up a new kitchen from scratch cost upwards of $100,000 - making start-up costs too formidable for many people.
This arrangement provides the new business owner with an existing kitchen and customer base to start them off.
Fusion Flowers' Charis Marriner has also teamed up with a complementary business to reduce the cost of leasing central business district space, bring in new customers and use excess space.
She moved from Tutanekai St to Pukuatua St last year to occupy larger premises at a lower cost, but soon realised the new store had more space than she needed. Marriner brought in Funtasia Events - a Tauranga event decorations company looking to set up in Rotorua.
"They display decorations and equipment in our store and work with us on consultations for weddings and other events.
"People can also make appointments with them here so they can meet people face-to-face, instead of over the phone or via the website."
She said inquiries in other centres showed retail space in Rotorua was relatively costly, meaning many people could not afford to be tied into a lease for a start-up business.
"[Sharing] is a really good idea." The arrangement brings in new customers for her, on top of reducing rental costs.
Placemakers also found itself with excess yard space when most of its manufacturing operations shifted to Taupo.
The Rotorua lot became a mini-industrial park 18 months ago, bringing Euro Scaffolding and Touchwood on to the site.
Operations manager Peter Breen said the combination had worked well and a fourth business would soon be joining the group, which he said had become something of a business network.
"It has worked really well having other businesses from the same industry. We get talking to different people, which can give us a whole new perspective."