Briscoes and Rebel set for new site

Briscoes and Rebel Sports will be trading from this Avenue-Dublin St site before the end of the year. Photo/Stuart Munro

Wanganui's retail scene is set for another major shake-up with Briscoes Homeware and Rebel Sports relocating to a new site.

Rod Duke, group managing director and deputy-chairman of Briscoes Group, confirmed the shift yesterday and told the Chronicle both stores should be trading from the corner of Victoria Ave and Dublin St before year's end.

Mr Duke said the corner site - once home to Wanganui Toyota - had been vacant for some years but was the ideal site for his company.

He said the group had developed similar shared retail outlets in other centres.

"In Palmerston North, we have got Rebel Sports fronting Rangitikei St and Briscoes fronting Cuba St, but both stores are linked by a common storage and administration section.

"We're doing something similar in Wanganui, with the two stores side by side but with a shared warehouse. Think of it as two restaurants but one kitchen," he said.

He said the move was happening because leases on the existing stores - Briscoes in St Hill St and Rebel Sport on the St Hill St-Ridgway St corner - were coming up for renewal.

"One of the criticisms with both our stores had been around parking but this new property will give us plenty of parking in front, with the stores set back from the road," Mr Duke said.

Briscoes Group would again be the tenant in the complex, being built by an unnamed local developer.

"We hope to be in there by September or October this year," Mr Duke said.

"A lot depends on how fast the district council gets the consents signed off."

But he said the company had visited Wanganui and the district council had been "very proactive" and had shown it a number of potential sites.

"They are obviously very keen to see some development go ahead." Mr Duke said the group had been looking for new premises for the Briscoes homeware store for at least three years, because it was too small.

"I'm terribly excited about what we've got planned for Wanganui and we expect it to have a marked impact on turnover in both stores in your city," he said.

With that in mind, they were anticipating having to take on more staff in both stores.