There has been a great deal of sadness expressed by locals during April when it was announced that Home Fabrics is to close its Hurstmere Road store, signalling the end of 60 years of business in Takapuna by the Sheehy family. This is certainly a blow for Takapuna at a time when main street retailing is getting harder. On a positive note, the Home Fabrics name will remain a firm part of the North Shore as they are relocating to their other business site on Constellation Drive. Channel Magazine’s Aidan Bennett went along to talk to Gerald Sheehy about the decision to close in Takapuna and what the future looks like for Home Fabrics.
In a way Home Fabrics is a real survivor in what is a changing landscape for retail. It has survived much longer than many other of the larger independent retail stores. Gerald Sheehy has led the business with his brother Michael for the past 30 years.
Home Fabrics was started by Gerald and Michael’s father Jack 60 years ago, back in 1958, prior to the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. After the depression young Jack Sheehy had been sent to Auckland from the family base in Raetihi to get a job. The war years intervened; he went to war, and then returned to the North Shore.
The first Home Fabrics store opened a few doors away from the current premises in Hurstmere Road in December 1958. It was only a little larger than the average living room and Jack borrowed all the money for the new business.
“North Shore businesses struggled prior to the opening of the Harbour Bridge and as a young fellow I can recall my dad and mum discussing money problems in those early years,” says Gerald Sheehy. “My dad kept a penny at the bottom of the safe just in case. It was the good luck charm if everything turned bad. I can proudly report that the original penny is still there. But it wasn’t until the Harbour Bridge opened that things started to take off and the financial situation improved."
And take off it did. That little Home Fabrics store was extended in 1959 and by 1964 it was three times the original size when it moved to the present site at 28 Hurstmere Road. There was a staff of five. Six years later a further 1100 square feet was added – an office, workroom and storeroom – and Home Fabrics became one of the first soft furnishing retailers to have its own on-site quality production facility. The staff had increased to around 15 people.
It was just prior to this expansion that Gerald Sheehy joined the family business, in 1968. He and brother Michael, who joined in the early 1980s, went on to succeed their father and jointly run the business when they purchased it in 1987.
“We are proud of what we have achieved,” adds Gerald. “All our staff have been with us forever, at one stage our average staff member service was over 20 years. We have 25 staff in the business and their loyalty and knowledge is truly remarkable.”
Gerald Sheehy says it will be the end of an era when they relocate from Takapuna to Constellation Drive as Home Fabrics has been more than just a retail store, they have been part of the community.
“In 1989 there were nine deaths annually on the Harbour Bridge. On November 24th four people alone were killed on the bridge in a head-on collision. When I read this in the paper I decided we had to do something as a community. We got hold of the North Shore Times Advertiser and Home Fabrics bought a full page advert. The advert had a tear-off piece encouraging people to send a message to then transport minister Richard Prebble to demand a barrier on the bridge. He was so inundated with these replies that he decided to do something about it. The first median barrier of its type was installed. As a result we have saved many lives, with only one death in the almost three decades since that time. It warms my heart that we drove that campaign to save lives, our little company.”
“It was appreciated by the community and helped us in other ways. A couple of years later we needed some help from the inland revenue department on an important matter. They proved to be a stumbling block at first, until the person we were dealing with behind the counter realised we were the company who had inspired the change to bridge safety. As a result our papers were stamped and we got what we wanted!”
Home Fabrics has always had a strong presence in the community and was known for innovative promotions. An example was when Gerald Sheehy slept in a freezer in the shop window in 1983 to demonstrate the quality of the 90% Down duvets they were selling and advertising on radio. The challenge was set by the radio station (Radio I) so Gerald took it on while at the same time raising money for charity. There were regular promotions and many barbecues out front of the store with other retailers such as Ralph Roberts from Roberts Electrical. Gerald recalls great camaraderie between the business owners.
So what is behind the decision to close the Home Fabrics Takapuna store after 60 years?
"The final straw has really been the upcoming makeover of the main street. Last time it was a disaster for us. That was back when the councils merged into North Shore City and they spent some money. The project took 18 months and while the result was good for Takapuna the pain was too much and it will be worse this time round given that there will be 28 carparks taken out in the main street to make way for pedestrians and cycle ways. By our calculations 448 customers use those 28 carparks in a day so the impact is going to be significant and we don’t believe it has been thought through.
“The sale of the Anzac Street carpark is also going to have a significant impact. This carpark was paid for by the business community and once it is sold the closest car parking for customers to our store is going to be half a kilometre away on the gasometer site. This is too far for convenience. Customers are not going to just pop in to Takapuna if it is not convenient. We understand that development is inevitable, but not everyone can ride bikes – older people and young parents etc. We have challenged Panuku about these things, but they have not provided answers that provide us with confidence.
“Retailing has also certainly changed, with a flight from quality and knowledge,” explains Gerald Sheehy. “Those who want to seek out the knowledge now do a lot more of it online. The big chain-store retailers and online sellers are good at making statements and the public believe them. This particularly applies to our Down products and sheets which we will not be continuing with. They make their average products sound like quality when they are not. Sheets are a classic example. ‘Thousand Thread’ sheets are made to sound great. The truth is they are essentially taking waste, twisting it together to make a yarn to make a sheet that is so fine it can’t breath. The result is it is not very comfortable, it wears quickly but it is marketed as being fantastic.”
“On the upside new technology has enabled the development of the fabrics side of our business and this is something we are excited about for the future. With digital technology we can create our designs in New Zealand for the New Zealand market and then send it to quality manufacturers in countries such as Turkey to have them made very quickly. As a result there is much more flexibility as we are able to make things in smaller quantities for the local market. Most wholesalers will take 18 months to two years to bring a new product to the market, we can now do it in three months."
So despite the relocation of the Takapuna Store the future looks bright for Home Fabrics. The store is being relocated to the second business site of the Sheehys on Constellation Drive. As well as operating Home Fabrics, since 1987 they have also owned the Redgraves business on Constellation Drive. So in essence they are merging the two brands to create a strong future. Gerald Sheehy says there are “lots of synergies” and the move makes business sense.
“We make our products every day at Constellation Drive and keep a close eye on quality and what our team is doing. Our finger remains firmly on the pulse and having our entire business on one site will enhance this. In that respect we have an old-fashioned approach to business. We do it ourselves rather than contracting things out."
The good news for Home Fabrics customers of course is that until the end of May there is a big sale on at the Takapuna Store so all the stock is cleared before relocation to Constellation Drive.
Home Fabrics – 28 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna. Phone 486 1103.
www.homefabrics.co.nz
From June… Home Fabrics – 35c Constellation Drive, Mairangi Bay.
