In this issue of Channel Mag we focus on our Channel Magazine ‘Do it Local’ campaign, encouraging readers to help our local businesses as they recover from this unprecedented Covid-19 period. It is over a year now since this problem became serious for New Zealand and wel started to experience the lockdowns that have had a big impact on all of us – including businesses throughout the country.
We established Channel Magazine back in 2010 with the aim of fostering our local economy for the benefit of the community. Thriving business areas are good for the community and we were keen to tell the good news stories. And we have. From day one we worked closely with local business associations and groups, and have had a policy of not including advertising that competes with our local businesses. We have stayed true to this, knocking back advertising dollars from over the bridge. It does hurt some times!
In recent issues we have made it easier for local businesses to advertise and promote their businesses in this magazine as we start to recover and get back to normality post-Covid-19. Our ‘Do it Local’ is another initiative to encourage our readers to spend locally as it is good for our community.
In this issue we talk to four local business people about their Covid-19 experience and what their recovery is looking like.
Caroline Mulholland is a director of local Milford butchery, Well Hung, which has a store on Kitchener Road and also inside Milford Mall. The business is owned by a group of meat lovers from Auckland. After travelling overseas, they found it difficult to source premium high-quality meats that had been dry-aged to allow the true flavours and textures to shine through. Given that we have some of the world’s best meat producers in New Zealand, the team thought this was a travesty so went about setting up their own company. As none of the owners had a butchery background, they've brought together an incredible team of artisan butchers and sourced a brilliant network of suppliers. Everything is prepared with patience, an attention to quality and a focus on celebrating and creating mouth-wateringly delicious flavours.
Channel Magazine: The last 12 months have been pretty tough for business. What have the key issues been that you have had to overcome?
Caroline Mulholland: Covid has been so tough for many local businesses and my heart goes out to those businesses that haven’t been able to operate at all throughout levels three and four. From our perspective, one of the biggest challenges throughout the lockdowns has been struggling with changing rules. Initially, during the first level four lockdown, butchers were classified as an essential service, then not, before the rules were reversed again with butchers being able to operate. This made life pretty stressful on our team and difficult to get our stock levels right but ultimately, we’ve been exceptionally lucky to have had the support our of local community.
CM: Have you had good support from your local community?
Caroline: Our local community is incredible and we are so appreciative of their support. Our customers adapted to the changes to ordering processes due to Covid and have not only given us their business but have taken the time to check-in on how our team is doing and to provide us with feedback and suggestions. We feel incredibly lucky to have such a loyal customer base and engaged community – there really is no place better to live and work. You guys (Channel Magazine) are a great advocate for championing and promoting local businesses and we are so grateful for the team's ongoing support. We’re also so lucky to have the support of Murray (Hill) and the Milford Business Association, who do so much to support local businesses and keep the local community engaged. Our new MP Simon Watts is another advocate who seems to be passionate about the North Shore and promoting support for shopping local. It was really pleasing to see his support has continued post the election.
CM: These lockdowns have given us time to discover new things. Is there anything you have enjoyed about the slower pace of lockdown life?
Caroline: Although these lockdowns were not something we would choose, they have allowed us to slow down and spend more time with family. It also helped to highlight the really important things in life like family, friends and health. We are so lucky to live in a country like New Zealand where we do have a greater level of control over our borders, which has allowed us to live with a lot more freedom than the rest of the world. Border restrictions have also helped showcase just how much New Zealand has to offer right here at home.
CM: Have you discovered anything new during this period about North Shore?
Caroline: So many talented artisan providers have popped up (possibly through change of circumstances) and it's wonderful to see the indomitable Kiwi spirit alive and well as we pull together. Unfortunately, many small businesses have not survived through these lockdowns and many others are just hanging on by their fingertips, which is why it is crucial that we look for ways to support our local community. Local markets at Takapuna and Smales Farm are great ways to discover many of these local providers, as well as taking the time to wander the streets and explore some of the local shops you might not have popped into before.
CM: Any exciting things happening with your business that Channel Mag readers should know about?
Caroline: At Well Hung, we offer a sensational, premium selection of New Zealand grown, grass fed, AngusPure, wagyu and Matangi angus beef aged up to 100 days. This provides our customers with the opportunity to source restaurant quality cuts for their homes – and a real treat for the tastebuds when it might not be possible to get out of the house! Over the last 12 months, we’ve also considerably expanded our ‘ready to go’ meal options, which are a fantastic option for those who are short on time or when you’re looking for a care package to drop-off to friends or family. These range from home-made pies and ready-made meals that you just need to pop in the oven, to our slow-cooked rotisserie meats and duck-fat roasted potatoes (which also make a fantastically easy catering option when catering for a group!). With both our stores also being entirely gluten-free, we make sure that dietary requirements don’t mean our customers have to suffer. Our range of award-winning, made in-house, gluten-free sausages are exceptionally popular and we’re always exploring new flavours to entice our customers. Covid has also meant we’ve expanded the ways in which our customers can purchase from us. Our stores are open seven days and our customers can shop in-store, select click-and-collect or place an order to be delivered direct to their door. We can deliver North Island-wide to non-rural addresses, making it easy for people to always have access to the best products for them and their families.
CM: Have you been happy with support you have received from local entities such as the business associations?
Caroline: Murray and the team at the Milford Business Association and I Love Takapuna do a great job with the events to promote our local areas. The recent Takapuna market day and French Festival in Milford are great examples of the work the business associations are doing to bring the community together. It's also been great to see Milford Mall support smaller local suppliers through their market day initiatives.
CM: What do you reckon we could have done better during this problem period?
Caroline: The situation with Covid has been incredibly challenging and all of us – including the Government – have been learning and adapting as we go. From a Government perspective, it would be great to see clearer messaging, a move towards better contact tracing capabilities and a well thought out vaccination programme being rolled out that will enable the country to avoid further lockdowns. From a community perspective, we all need to adhere to the instructions to stay home if you are sick and, if you need to, get tested. There is also an onus on business owners and managers to support their teams to do this too. Within the broader community, it has been great to see people pull together to support small businesses, buy New Zealand-made and to make the effort to check on their friends, family, and neighbours. It would be great if these practices continue as we eventually emerge from the impact of Covid.
CM: Why should local people support local businesses?
Caroline: Our local businesses ARE our local community. The North Shore is so lucky that we are made up of so many picturesque pockets with an incredible array of shopping options. Wonderful cafes, boutiques, craft shops, clothing retailers, hairdressers, service providers and of course butcheries. You never need to leave the Shore to get everything you need. The people are the other reason the Shore is so special. Cheerful, positive, and supportive; what more could you need in a community?
CM: In 2022 our Well Hung plan is...
Caroline: To continue to offer our customers top quality, delicious and sustainably sourced meat. Over the next 12 months, we also want to provide more opportunities to bring the community together whether that be through our Beef and Red Wine evenings, or our support of local events.
Jake Henderson is a lighting designer at Firefly Light & Design based in Devonport. Firefly is a family business that started in 2006. They originally opened as a lighting shop but the offering has grown to include various window treatments like shutters, blinds and curtains as well as furniture and other designer products. The Firefly staff includes qualified lighting designer (Jake), complemented with a dedicated specialist handling window treatment enquiries. Firefly has a focus on delivering quality design backed up by qualified experts. Jake gave Channel an insight into what running the store has been like over the past year and how local people can support them.
CM: The last 12 months have been tough for the whole community. What have the key issues been that you have had to overcome?
Jake Henderson: With lockdowns meaning the doors have been closed for long periods we’ve had to rely more heavily on our online store. Fortunately this was already well established when Covid19 impacted so it has been a matter of increasing and improving our offering online. We’ve also been struck by shipping issues, with long lead times becoming a challenge, but customers are generally very understanding.
CM: Have you had good support from your local community?
Jake: We have been fortunate that people are spending more time at home and investing a little more in their home environment, this has been a help to us in this tricky time. The local community have given us great support and shown genuine concern for the survival of the business which is reassuring.
CM: These lockdowns have given us time to discover new things, is there anything you have enjoyed about the slower pace of lockdown life?
Jake: I’ve tried to improve my work/life balance with more time doing DIY and walking the local neighbourhood, but there’s still a lot to do at Firefly to make sure we’re in the best position to bounce back when lockdowns are lifted.
CM: What sets your store apart from the rest?
Jake: We've been around a long time and seen a lot of evolution in trends and technology. I’d like to think that this experience puts us in a strong position to deliver what our customers want with a degree of expertise that other businesses may not have.
CM: Any exciting things happening with your business that Channel Mag readers should know about?
Jake: Our Danish lighting supplier, Nordlux, has recently streamlined distribution which means that we can increase our offering and lead times have been dramatically cut. There are also some spectacular new fabric ranges being launched in the near future as the 2020 releases were delayed due to Covid 19.
CM: Have you been happy with support you have received from local entities such as the business associations etc.?
Jake: The Devonport Business Association seems to be good at engaging with the community but we would also benefit from more time advocating for local businesses. We need innovative thinking to support and lobby for all local businesses.
CM: What do you reckon we could have done better during this problem period?
Jake: Having the chance to slow down, take a step back, and evaluate things during Covid 19 lockdowns is a rare opportunity which we could have made more of. There are a multitude of incremental improvements we probably could have made.
CM: Why should local people support local businesses?
Jake: Small businesses need the support of the local community – If people are not shopping locally it jeopardises the survival of the businesses they enjoy visiting. Once businesses close they probably won’t come back and that loss of a vibrant community centre would be saddening (… and why take on Lake Road traffic to head elsewhere if you don’t need to!)
CM: In 2022 our Firefly plan is...
Jake: …to develop our online sales platform so that we can continue to grow sales across the whole country. We’ll also be exploring new locally designed product lines to build on what we already have available, and increase sustainability.
Jude Turner is the owner of Crave Home, a Birkenhead institution after 12 years in business. Crave is a beautiful store with a range of gifts and homewares and Jude says she and her team love nothing more than helping customers out with their purchasing decisions. Jude is also the Chair of the Birkenhead Village Association so she has an interesting insight into the state of local businesses in the area and how the last year has impacted so many business owners and operators. Jude answers a few questions from Channel on operating a retail business during a pandemic, the kiwi brands she loves and stocks, plus she lets us in on her lockdown discoveries.
CM: The last 12 months have been tough for the whole community, what have the key issues been that you have had to overcome at Crave?
Jude: Supply chain issues have been a factor in what we’re able to offer our customers, some orders due last November have only just arrived, while others have been cancelled. Trying to ensure that the store is well stocked has been probably the biggest issue we’ve faced.
CM: Have you had good support from your local community?
Jude: Our local community has been amazing. Our customers, new and old, have kept us going through all the lockdowns and especially when we’ve been released from lockdown! We miss seeing our regulars when we’re in level three but their online support has been humbling.
CM: These lockdowns have given us time to discover new things, is there anything you have enjoyed about the slower pace of lockdown life?
Jude: I really enjoyed spending more time in the kitchen, reading some great books, going for long walks around our neighbourhood and watching Netflix.
CM: Do you have any particular New Zealand made brands in store that you love?
Jude: This country is blessed with creatives. We especially love our local Ashley & Co range of body and home products, Burrow & Be organic clothing for little ones, Pretty Brave and Crywolf for children’s footwear and outerwear, and the Triumph & Disaster men’s care collection.
CM: Any exciting things happening with your business that Channel Mag readers should know about?
Jude: We’re looking forward to launching some new items that we’ve developed ourselves in the next couple of months, as well as shortly launching our own gift box concept. We’re also excited about a new counter arriving in a couple of months!
CM: Have you been happy with support you have received from local entities such as the business associations?
Jude: I’m the Chair of our Birkenhead Village Association and I think we’ve done a pretty good job for our businesses. Before we went into the level four lockdown last year, we kickstarted our Love Local campaign with signage and advertising, and that carried right through until we were all able to re-open. We profiled lots of businesses via our active Facebook page, brought in musicians to create a festive atmosphere for the level three openings of our food businesses and made world headlines with our midnight re-openings of four barber shops (who worked right through until 5am!). We’ve continued with support and relaying key information to our community each time.
CM: What do you reckon we could have done better during this problem period?
Jude: I think communication is key to bringing people with you. Presenting the facts, a plan and reasoning is super important for ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Some of that has been missing recently from the Government.
CM: Why should local people support local businesses?
Jude: Local businesses help keep communities alive because they often employ members of the community, bring revenue to the local economy, support local fundraising initiatives and they’re a welcoming space for personal connections.
CM: In 2022 our Crave Home plan is...
Jude: For a more settled year, be lockdown free and to keep delivering for our customers!
New World Metro in Takapuna’s Shore City is owned and operated by Doug Cochrane. The store opened in November 2019, just before Covid, with the disruption of 2020 making the first year and interesting one! Doug is hugely experienced, he is originally from the UK and has spent over 30 years working in the grocery industry, first for UK giant Tesco and now for Foodstuffs (owners of New World, Pak'n'Save and Four Square). He emigrated to New Zealand seven years ago with his wife Cary and their children and settled in Devonport. Doug talks to Channel Mag about his experience in the industry, his hard working team, operating during Covid and supporting local Shore products and businesses.
CM: The last 12 months have been tough for the whole community. What have the key issues been that you have had to overcome?
Doug: The biggest challenge has been the shift of people working in the office to home during the lockdown and also Life Pharmacy and New World being the only stores open in Shore City Mall during the level three and four lockdowns. We have carried on delivering a great standard in-store and we've been busy on social media letting people know we were open.
CM: Have you had good support from your local community?
Doug: Yes, we have a really solid core of local customers, people that we have gotten to know, and customers have also got to know our team too. We are actively supporting local business: we are stocking products from Street Organics located in Byron Avenue and from a Devonport-based company called Secret Kiwi Kitchen.
CM: These lockdowns have given us time to discover new things. Is there anything you have enjoyed about the slower pace of lockdown life?
Doug: To be honest I have not really had much time to slow down as we have been open throughout. The first lockdown gave us an opportunity to spend four weeks with the family with both my adult children returning home.
CM: What’s been the top selling product at the supermarket?
Doug: Blueberries have been absolutely massive this season; they have been a great product this year and at a very competitive price.
CM: Have local's shopping behaviours changed over the past year with lockdowns, additional rules etc?
Doug: It has been a pleasure to be serving the local community particularly during the lockdown period. It has been tough for all, particularly those with a business that has been closed. I also greatly appreciate the effort and commitment from my team who have been here daily during a fairly uncertain time. We couldn't deliver to the community without their hard work.
CM: Any exciting things happening with New World Metro Shore City that Channel Mag readers should know about?
Doug: Our bakery and deli range continues to grow. We are excited to be able to provide catering for events at home and the workplace, also to be a go-to place for some fabulous celebration cakes.
CM: Have you been happy with support you have received from local entities such as the business associations etc.?
Doug: The Takapuna Beach Business Association are doing a great job promoting Takapuna and organising some super events. It's great to see the events so well attended by the community.
CM: What do you reckon we could have done better during this problem period?
Doug: It’s hard to say; these have been exceptionally challenging times and there are still some to come. We just need to continue to support each other and get the best of what is local.
CM: Why should local people support local businesses?
Doug: The town centres and local business are the centre of the community. We are proud to be a locally owned New Zealand business; we employ local people and enjoy being part of the community.
CM: In 2022 our New World Metro Shore City plan is...
Doug: To continue to offer new and exciting meal solutions and run some fantastic promotional activity. Following us on Facebook (nwshorecity) is a good way to see what is going on in store.
