Waiouru has been branded with a Z - and it's nothing to do with the masked hero Zorro.
The army town's Shell sign has come down and is about to be replaced with a Z - pronounced zed.
Over the next two months Greenstone, which owns the Shell retail and distribution network in this country, will rebrand 10 of its stations Z, with all 220 to be renamed by next June.
Waiouru is one of the first and Wanganui's Dublin St service station is in the queue.
Greenstone, a joint venture between Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, bought the Shell stations in April 2010 and has since announced its plans to change the brand with an advertising campaign.
Chief executive Mike Bennetts said the project would cost around $35 million, with the resulting stations more focused on convenience food, an area where he acknowledged the company had been lacking. All 2500 staff members would be retrained.
The company carried out a major research project, which questioned more than 17,000 people about what they wanted from a petrol station, before concluding that the change should be made.
"Change is never a straightforward decision but we were really well informed by what 17,000 New Zealanders had to say, and they gave us the confidence that we're actually making the right decision," Mr Bennetts said.
TV ads have begun screening, playing up the company's local ownership.
Waiouru marked with a Z
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.