Latest / Best of Business / Business Panel: Retail NZ CEO Carlolyn Young and Backhouse Interiors' Michelle Backhouse on how business fared in 2024

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Business Panel: Retail NZ CEO Carlolyn Young and Backhouse Interiors' Michelle Backhouse on how business fared in 2024 · Best of Business

0:09
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0:38
Speaker 2: No, I'm not going to dance with Carolyn Young Whiff
0:41
Speaker 2: and Hell Retail New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young loves
0:45
Speaker 2: a silence. She said, I'm trying to dance. You're what
0:48
Speaker 2: they say about white woman, I can't dance. Well wents
0:52
Speaker 2: on that neck. Well, I just said it. I didn't
0:55
Speaker 2: expect you to make a comment. I just said, white
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Speaker 2: woman can't done. Oh I started all right. We started
1:01
Speaker 2: the business ballants, the last one of the year. I
1:03
Speaker 2: could have some fun. Cutter absolutely, thank you Carolyn Young
1:06
Speaker 2: for joining us and beck Out Cinteria owner Michelle Backhouse. Michelle,
1:12
Speaker 2: welcome to the show. It's the first time you've done it,
1:13
Speaker 2: but your family business has been iconic in our city
1:18
Speaker 2: for as long as I possibly can remember.
1:22
Speaker 3: Thank you, Nick. It's great to be here.
1:23
Speaker 4: And yes, we've been in Wellington since nineteen forty eight,
1:28
Speaker 4: starting off as a manufacturing business. Just off Courtney Place,
1:31
Speaker 4: and our latest iteration is coming back. What we're sort
1:35
Speaker 4: of returning home into the Courtney Place precinct into Allen Street.
1:38
Speaker 4: So we're very excited about the positive change that can
1:42
Speaker 4: bring about, hopefully lighting a bit of a bombfit and
1:45
Speaker 4: getting other like minded businesses to move back into the city.
1:48
Speaker 2: And I can tell you that your new shop is beautiful.
1:51
Speaker 2: It's been well done. It feels good. You had a
1:53
Speaker 2: look girl. Not yet come on your retail in New Zealand.
1:56
Speaker 2: Big shop opens like that and downtown you should be
1:58
Speaker 2: walking in and saying this is fantastic, No, congratulations, it
2:02
Speaker 2: looks great. We are later in the show going to
2:03
Speaker 2: talk about you shifting there and the reasons why you
2:05
Speaker 2: shift this. But I want to start the showy looking
2:08
Speaker 2: back on twenty twenty four because it's our final show
2:11
Speaker 2: of the year for business panel, not for the show.
2:13
Speaker 2: We've got another week to go with the show, but
2:16
Speaker 2: our business is our last business panel and it's been
2:19
Speaker 2: a big and I would say eventful year for business people. Karen.
2:22
Speaker 2: I'll start with you twenty twenty four, give us your thoughts,
2:26
Speaker 2: your members thoughts. How will you remember twenty twenty four?
2:32
Speaker 3: Look, it's been tough.
2:33
Speaker 5: You mean, we can't. We just can't get past that.
2:36
Speaker 5: I mean, we've had lots of engagement with members around
2:40
Speaker 5: how difficult it's been for them for all sorts of
2:42
Speaker 5: different reasons in the highs of the election last year
2:46
Speaker 5: and people's optimism around things turning around really quickly, when
2:50
Speaker 5: in reality the economy takes some time, and we're probably
2:53
Speaker 5: still three or six months away from really feeling the
2:57
Speaker 5: impositive impact of the levers that the Reserve Bank's been pulling.
3:00
Speaker 5: So getting through the next three or six months is
3:05
Speaker 5: going to be really important. And the fact that you know,
3:08
Speaker 5: the saying now that the recovery won't be as strong
3:12
Speaker 5: as what they anticipated, so everyone's been doing it tough,
3:15
Speaker 5: and you know, consumers and retailers.
3:19
Speaker 2: Michelle Beckhouse, you're one of the most positive people that
3:21
Speaker 2: I've ever met. Now I've only just met you, so
3:23
Speaker 2: it's not like we're long good old buddies or anything.
3:26
Speaker 2: But I met you about a month ago for the
3:27
Speaker 2: first time, obviously knew who you were. You're very positive people.
3:33
Speaker 2: How was person How was twenty twenty four for you?
3:37
Speaker 4: I agree with Carolyn, it's probably been the most challenging
3:39
Speaker 4: year we've ever experienced in business, and we have a
3:42
Speaker 4: business not just in Wellington but in Auckland, and we
3:45
Speaker 4: also have distribution around the country. I think the hardest
3:49
Speaker 4: thing is that it doesn't matter how much money you earn.
3:52
Speaker 4: Everyone's felt really challenged this year in terms of their
3:55
Speaker 4: disposable income and I think it's very difficult.
3:59
Speaker 3: For us in our type of business.
4:01
Speaker 4: How do you plan, you know, what sort of stopped
4:03
Speaker 4: you bring in, you know, also taking on extra staff,
4:08
Speaker 4: you know, And so I would say this year our
4:11
Speaker 4: team has worked harder and longer hours than ever before.
4:14
Speaker 4: We decided not to take on additional pairs of hands
4:17
Speaker 4: because we didn't know how the year was going to
4:19
Speaker 4: you know, travel We normally employ industrial design students and
4:24
Speaker 4: this is the first year we decided not to because
4:27
Speaker 4: we thought we can do it ourselves. And that's you know,
4:30
Speaker 4: trying to put more money into the important things in
4:33
Speaker 4: the business.
4:34
Speaker 5: You have to make decisions that are right for the
4:36
Speaker 5: business because you're thinking about the sustainability of the business
4:39
Speaker 5: and you've had to absorb lots of increases from leases
4:43
Speaker 5: to insurances to you know, wage increases. You know, there's
4:49
Speaker 5: lots of other impacts that have been really big on
4:52
Speaker 5: businesses that have made it really difficult to withstand and
4:57
Speaker 5: think about planning because you don't know how many customers
5:00
Speaker 5: are coming in the door and really what stock you're
5:02
Speaker 5: going to have. So the worst thing for a retailer
5:04
Speaker 5: is not having enough stock, and the worst thing for
5:07
Speaker 5: a retailer is having too much stock.
5:09
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and we were very fortunate we had a relocation
5:13
Speaker 4: sell in Wellington and we are that brand. It does
5:15
Speaker 4: carry a lot of stock and that was our as
5:18
Speaker 4: card I guess we had. We didn't have an eye
5:20
Speaker 4: in stock. We could sell existing stock lines all good
5:23
Speaker 4: stock and also get a bit of you know, traction
5:26
Speaker 4: in the sort of brick and mortar fart of what
5:29
Speaker 4: we do because people had to come in to have
5:30
Speaker 4: a log and see what those pieces were. But I
5:33
Speaker 4: think for us to in our business, it's been the
5:35
Speaker 4: high cost of freight and the fact that it hasn't
5:37
Speaker 4: been as much freight coming down into Wellington, and of
5:40
Speaker 4: course problems with ferries and getting freight into South Island.
5:43
Speaker 4: That's been a bit of a logistical nightmare as well.
5:46
Speaker 4: And a lot of these freight companies, like international freight companies,
5:50
Speaker 4: they wait until they fill up their vessels. It's right
5:53
Speaker 4: to make it takes longer, so it takes longer. So
5:55
Speaker 4: we've just had a shipment, for example, that was supposed
5:57
Speaker 4: to be here from Italy last week and it basically
6:01
Speaker 4: the container got dropped off forty foot container in Singapore
6:04
Speaker 4: because I suspect they just didn't have enough freight coming
6:07
Speaker 4: down and they're waiting for a vessel to be fully subscribed.
6:10
Speaker 5: In those extra costs costs, yeah, they make a really
6:12
Speaker 5: big difference. So you've got extra time frame you're trying
6:15
Speaker 5: to juggle worth in order to get to get stock
6:17
Speaker 5: on the shelves when you promise it, and the cost
6:19
Speaker 5: and time of getting it here is just continuing to increase,
6:22
Speaker 5: both internationally and domestically. I do think we might be
6:26
Speaker 5: hearing an announcement after cabinet today around the fairies, so
6:29
Speaker 5: we're going to be ready.
6:30
Speaker 2: Have you heard something on that.
6:31
Speaker 5: I heard a whisper that there might be an announcement today,
6:33
Speaker 5: so we know that they were going to announce something
6:35
Speaker 5: before the eleventh, So that's only two days away, so
6:38
Speaker 5: it's not today, it's in the next couple of days.
6:40
Speaker 2: Michelle, I want to ask you because I know you know,
6:43
Speaker 2: once again the positivity, But I mean, how has government
6:46
Speaker 2: and council decisions? How have they affected you as a business.
6:49
Speaker 2: You've got a new government, they'll make changes. We've got
6:52
Speaker 2: a council that's not wouldn't I wouldn't classify them as
6:54
Speaker 2: the most popular council. The decisions that are making. How
6:58
Speaker 2: has that affected you as a business woman in the city.
7:01
Speaker 4: I think the biggest problem I've had in Wellington is
7:04
Speaker 4: lack of confidence and that unfortunately filters down to you know, consumers.
7:10
Speaker 4: They don't feel confident in terms of you know, the
7:13
Speaker 4: rates have you know that's a huge eighteen percent. In
7:18
Speaker 4: Auckland we're only paying seven percent. So there's lots of
7:20
Speaker 4: discussions around that. You can see businesses saying, well, do
7:23
Speaker 4: we expand in Wellington or do we expand in Auckland
7:27
Speaker 4: because it's a little bit more business friendly up there,
7:29
Speaker 4: even though they've still got the same issues around retail challenges.
7:33
Speaker 3: I think people voore people we're what two.
7:36
Speaker 4: Hundred and sixty thousand and Wellington Greater Wellington for sixty
7:40
Speaker 4: so it's economy of scale once again.
7:42
Speaker 2: But I think there's really given me the one I'm.
7:45
Speaker 4: Going to say if we'd had more unified leadership in
7:49
Speaker 4: the city, that would have been helpful.
7:51
Speaker 3: If we'd had.
7:51
Speaker 4: Less emphasis on transportation in the city in terms of
7:55
Speaker 4: cycle lanes, that would have been helpful. If we'd had
7:58
Speaker 4: more support and around businesses and what they can do
8:02
Speaker 4: to help businesses thrive, that would have been helpful. And
8:05
Speaker 4: the consultation we've experienced with council has not always been helpful.
8:10
Speaker 4: In fact, it's been negligible and really challenging.
8:15
Speaker 5: And I think to your point, there has to be
8:17
Speaker 5: a way that we can find for commuters whether you're
8:23
Speaker 5: on a bike or you're walking, or you're running, or
8:25
Speaker 5: you're in a car or on a bus or on
8:27
Speaker 5: a train, and businesses to be able to coexist because
8:31
Speaker 5: we can't work in isolation. You know, if there aren't
8:34
Speaker 5: businesses and hospitality and retail out there, people aren't going
8:38
Speaker 5: to come into the city. And if there aren't accessible
8:41
Speaker 5: ways to get there, they're not going to come either.
8:43
Speaker 5: So you can't disrupt everything so much so that businesses
8:47
Speaker 5: close down or they move premises because of the decisions
8:50
Speaker 5: that are being made. We've got to find a way
8:52
Speaker 5: to coexist into more collaborative around how we want to
8:56
Speaker 5: work together, and it feels very isolating at the moment,
9:00
Speaker 5: and the consultation that has taken place by the council.
9:03
Speaker 5: When you ask any business about the consultation, they say
9:06
Speaker 5: that they don't feel they've been consulted in councilor adamant
9:09
Speaker 5: that they have been. So you know, there's a disconnect there.
9:13
Speaker 2: What about closures to both of you. I mean, Michelle,
9:16
Speaker 2: there's been a lot of business closes. We heard this
9:18
Speaker 2: morning that Myrtle, you know, very successful bakery. Now, I
9:22
Speaker 2: think that's just down to the fact that they must
9:24
Speaker 2: have had a good lease or a lease that was
9:25
Speaker 2: you know, the building's up for sale and they want
9:27
Speaker 2: to put apartment. So I think that's purely down to
9:30
Speaker 2: a lease there. That's me speculating. I don't know, but
9:33
Speaker 2: there's been too many closures.
9:34
Speaker 4: Well, I hope they come back again because they're a
9:37
Speaker 4: great business. They have the larder and Mirama, So maybe
9:40
Speaker 4: it's just for them pausing knowing that they can't stay
9:43
Speaker 4: in the existing space. But the closures, I mean, it's symbiotic.
9:47
Speaker 4: We need retail and hospitality, everything working together. You know,
9:52
Speaker 4: if we don't have thriving retail and hospitality. We can't
9:55
Speaker 4: give jobs to young creatives coming into the city. You know,
9:58
Speaker 4: we've built our reputation in Wellington on being in arts
10:00
Speaker 4: and creative center, so we need those businesses to thrive.
10:05
Speaker 4: And you know, the city's so much more than just
10:09
Speaker 4: transportation routes and service industries. You know, when you travel
10:13
Speaker 4: to a city, you want to go to a really
10:15
Speaker 4: good cafe or a good restaurant and a good retail shop.
10:18
Speaker 2: It's almost the first thing you want to do. That's
10:20
Speaker 2: the first thing, the first thing you come into a
10:22
Speaker 2: new town.
10:22
Speaker 3: You say, totally.
10:23
Speaker 2: I went to Melbourne, you know, a couple of years ago.
10:25
Speaker 2: So where do I get a coffee? One hundred percent?
10:27
Speaker 2: Where's the best breakfast in town? Isn't it?
10:31
Speaker 3: Absolutely?
10:32
Speaker 4: When we were in Auckland last week before we went,
10:33
Speaker 4: we booked two restaurants, you know, same when we went
10:36
Speaker 4: to Sydney. Always we're hotel close, we can walk to everything.
10:39
Speaker 4: What's a great restaurant, great place to meet friends, to
10:42
Speaker 4: have lunch? And then it's what about the shopping?
10:44
Speaker 2: So I've got to go to an air break But
10:45
Speaker 2: I will ask you again, I mean the same question.
10:48
Speaker 2: A lot of closures in twenty twenty four in retail
10:51
Speaker 2: as well.
10:52
Speaker 5: YEP, a lot of closures and it's been really challenging.
10:56
Speaker 5: So I think that's you to the really emphasize I
11:01
Speaker 5: think the fact that we really want to find a
11:03
Speaker 5: way to work together, and we do know that businesses
11:07
Speaker 5: need to be edge. Old businesses can't stay the same
11:10
Speaker 5: because everything changes around you, so you do also have
11:13
Speaker 5: to be agile and be able to pivot and change
11:16
Speaker 5: and be dynamic to the environment that's in front of you.
11:19
Speaker 5: But there is something when we're seeing such a high
11:22
Speaker 5: number of businesses in the Wellington region closing, and when
11:25
Speaker 5: we look at some of the reasons that they're telling
11:27
Speaker 5: us why they are closing and what their neighboring businesses
11:31
Speaker 5: will say about the impact of their business closing. If
11:34
Speaker 5: we think about Thornton Key and the challenges around the
11:37
Speaker 5: development of the bus and the cycle lanes down there,
11:40
Speaker 5: it's been really difficult for retailers down there. And I
11:44
Speaker 5: was drove past there yesterday just before four o'clock it
11:48
Speaker 5: was completely dead.
11:49
Speaker 2: Right, I'm going to talk to Michelle because Michelle is
11:52
Speaker 2: very experienced in Thornton, knows more about Thornton than anyone
11:55
Speaker 2: else at Wellington, So we will ask those questions when
11:58
Speaker 2: we come to the Thornton. Let's talk about a horrible
12:01
Speaker 2: phase that I hated, and I don't think it's going
12:03
Speaker 2: to make any difference or any change. The phase survived
12:06
Speaker 2: till You're till twenty five has been uttered by many
12:09
Speaker 2: of our guests this year, and people keep talking about
12:11
Speaker 2: it in retail. Carolyn, what the hell does it mean
12:15
Speaker 2: survive to twenty five and what are the hopes for
12:18
Speaker 2: your members for next year?
12:21
Speaker 5: Look, I think it's a little bit confusing because everybody
12:23
Speaker 5: kind of thinks, Okatie's get to one January and we're
12:25
Speaker 5: all good. But ultimately what we know is that those
12:28
Speaker 5: economic factors is a lag and so it's going to
12:32
Speaker 5: take Yes, you need to survive to twenty five, but
12:34
Speaker 5: it's probably some time around May or June and twenty
12:39
Speaker 5: five that things will start turning the corner and they
12:42
Speaker 5: won't be quite as aggressive as what was first indicated
12:44
Speaker 5: by the Reserve Bank governor six months ago. So you know,
12:49
Speaker 5: we do know the recession has been tough, and we
12:51
Speaker 5: know the tail has had a big sting to it,
12:54
Speaker 5: and it's going to be really critical how businesses can
12:57
Speaker 5: use this quarter because this last quarter of the year
13:00
Speaker 5: is so critical for retail. If we can make some
13:02
Speaker 5: good sales in this quarter, they'll be able to get
13:05
Speaker 5: through that first four or five months of the year,
13:07
Speaker 5: and that stage, consumer confidence will have turned around, the
13:11
Speaker 5: economy will be you know, back on track, and we'll
13:14
Speaker 5: fully be able to see the benefits of that, and
13:16
Speaker 5: businesses should be able to flourish.
13:17
Speaker 2: Michelle, That is it, isn't it? Really? We all this
13:19
Speaker 2: hospitality is exactly the same. We hope for a big
13:22
Speaker 2: December because January we know it's going to be quiet,
13:25
Speaker 2: and then we're hoping. What are your thoughts on that?
13:27
Speaker 4: Well, I think you know, for us in our industry,
13:31
Speaker 4: December isn't such a big retail month because well, often
13:34
Speaker 4: we're working on projects that are months out. Obviously in
13:37
Speaker 4: terms of the Christmas gift baring and things, it is
13:40
Speaker 4: important we have brought more stock in for that market.
13:43
Speaker 4: And you're right because for us, we close, you know,
13:47
Speaker 4: twenty second of December this year, and don't we actually
13:49
Speaker 4: closed down for two or three weeks to give us
13:51
Speaker 4: staff a good long break. So you know, January for
13:54
Speaker 4: us is a really tough month because you're not earning
13:56
Speaker 4: anything over January and it's so quiet and it's.
13:58
Speaker 5: Ton time, right, everybody goes, it goes, yeah we're going away,
14:01
Speaker 5: so yeah, so good for some Yeah.
14:03
Speaker 4: So December is and it's also I think a time
14:07
Speaker 4: for connecting with clients, getting people into the showroom to
14:10
Speaker 4: have chats and things. So it is important and hospitality
14:14
Speaker 4: very important.
14:14
Speaker 2: So tell me, Michelle, how quickly do you think that
14:16
Speaker 2: the economic conditions will improve next year. You've heard Carolyn
14:19
Speaker 2: so she doesn't think it's going to be till May.
14:22
Speaker 3: I agree with Carolyn.
14:23
Speaker 4: I think you know it's the lag even though we've
14:26
Speaker 4: had ocr cuts. I think it doesn't won't impact on
14:29
Speaker 4: people's disposable income, their mortgage when when they're renewing mortgages,
14:33
Speaker 4: et cetera. And so I do think it's The first
14:36
Speaker 4: quarter is very much going to be about sitting. Like
14:38
Speaker 4: we've spent a lot of time talking about technology and
14:41
Speaker 4: our business, changing up our website, being a bit more transparent, enterprising,
14:45
Speaker 4: what stock lines we can bring in that give people
14:47
Speaker 4: sort of instant gratification if they're going to make a decision.
14:52
Speaker 4: We're looking at just try to stay a little bit
14:55
Speaker 4: more relevant in terms of pivoting because it's important. But
15:00
Speaker 4: I don't think we're going to see I mean, I'm
15:02
Speaker 4: seeing a few green shoots, a little bit more confidence,
15:04
Speaker 4: but maybe that's because we've relocated into.
15:06
Speaker 3: The city, a new shop's got a new business.
15:08
Speaker 4: And people are coming in to sort of have a
15:10
Speaker 4: little chat, a bit of a codado, who are you,
15:12
Speaker 4: what are you doing here? And picking up new business
15:14
Speaker 4: from that point of view, but I think, you know,
15:17
Speaker 4: we just really need to support retail and hospitality and
15:21
Speaker 4: so that they can thrive in twenty five.
15:23
Speaker 3: Yeah, because everyone's had the same machine.
15:25
Speaker 2: And I ask you both the same question, starting with you, Carolyn,
15:27
Speaker 2: what do you want to see from your council next year?
15:32
Speaker 5: I'd like to see a more collaborative approach around how
15:34
Speaker 5: we solve the issues in front of us. And I
15:36
Speaker 5: feel that we all need to be able to sit
15:39
Speaker 5: and thrash things out and understand that we may not
15:42
Speaker 5: all agree, but we need to find a way in
15:44
Speaker 5: which we get the best outcomes for the city. And
15:47
Speaker 5: that includes everybody. Because if you spend you know, millions
15:52
Speaker 5: and millions of dollars on the Golden Mile and there's
15:55
Speaker 5: no business is left.
15:56
Speaker 2: To what end?
15:58
Speaker 5: And We know that Thornton has been a really challenging
16:04
Speaker 5: development and that that's been difficult for businesses down in
16:07
Speaker 5: that area. We've seen some businesses close and councilors said
16:11
Speaker 5: to me that they have learned from that experience and
16:13
Speaker 5: they're learning from what's been happening in Auckland. But actually
16:16
Speaker 5: you have to take each area as it is. We
16:19
Speaker 5: know that that businesses are on their knees right now
16:22
Speaker 5: and actually going out and doing development and changing right
16:25
Speaker 5: now is tough. We do need some beautification of the
16:28
Speaker 5: Courtley Place area, don't doubt that and disagree with that
16:31
Speaker 5: at all, but it's around to what extent do we
16:34
Speaker 5: need to do that or a city the size of
16:36
Speaker 5: two hundred and fifty thousand people.
16:38
Speaker 2: Okay, Michelle, your same question.
16:40
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that basically the council needs to think
16:44
Speaker 4: and talk to Wellingtonian's about rather than coming up with
16:47
Speaker 4: ideas based on ideology. I think Wellington traditionally Thornton Key
16:53
Speaker 4: was a destination. You had to have a car to
16:55
Speaker 4: go down there. It's not somewhere you walked in there, notarily,
16:58
Speaker 4: and if our public transport was better, we could have
17:02
Speaker 4: made it all work.
17:03
Speaker 3: And we're not Copenhagen.
17:04
Speaker 4: I've been to Copenhagen, and it always makes me smile
17:06
Speaker 4: when these consultants came out from Denmark. But most of
17:09
Speaker 4: us live on hills and we have this very unique
17:12
Speaker 4: flat area. But you know, all of a sudden rip
17:15
Speaker 4: up car parking in areas that your business needs those
17:20
Speaker 4: people to come and visit you, and trucks to come
17:22
Speaker 4: and deliver gods. I think the council, I agree, needs
17:25
Speaker 4: to be more unified. I would like to think that
17:27
Speaker 4: when they sit down for their sessions, they say what
17:29
Speaker 4: do we agree about, what can we agree on, and
17:33
Speaker 4: then go from that point of view, rather than all
17:35
Speaker 4: of these desperate ideas.
17:37
Speaker 3: That are presented that are presented almost.
17:39
Speaker 4: Yes, and you know, I just sort of think sometimes
17:42
Speaker 4: there's just no common sense in some of the situations.
17:44
Speaker 4: And I would probably like to see more business focus
17:49
Speaker 4: on the council, someone who has actually run a business,
17:52
Speaker 4: someone who actually understands about employing staff.
17:55
Speaker 2: You know, Michelle, I want to start with you on
17:58
Speaker 2: this one. I'm noticing a lot of positivity in the
18:00
Speaker 2: last few months of the year, with new businesses popping
18:02
Speaker 2: up around the city and others relocating to other parts
18:04
Speaker 2: of the town. You've just shifted from Qui fiifightn't call
18:08
Speaker 2: I call it Thornton, you call it Kai Fighter Fighter.
18:10
Speaker 2: To be exact to the CB CBD. How tough or
18:14
Speaker 2: how big a decision was this for you to shift?
18:17
Speaker 4: Quite a significant decision. We've been there for twenty three years.
18:20
Speaker 4: We'd been there for twenty three years. We originally started
18:24
Speaker 4: our business obviously in Tiarro, and we had also time
18:29
Speaker 4: in Thorndon. We went to Cafarder for it because we
18:32
Speaker 4: thought it would be easy for people to park outside
18:34
Speaker 4: we are a destination brand, and would be easy for
18:36
Speaker 4: our trucks to pull in and deliver goods. Within two
18:39
Speaker 4: years of being there, we lost our parking from seven
18:43
Speaker 4: to nine in the morning, which was fine. We worked
18:45
Speaker 4: with that and it was great, a cycle lane and
18:47
Speaker 4: a bus lane. And then two years ago we were
18:50
Speaker 4: notified that we were going to lose all our parking
18:52
Speaker 4: on the other side of the road, and we knew
18:54
Speaker 4: that was going to impact on us negatively because we
18:56
Speaker 4: don't have a public car park in kfor or fora
18:59
Speaker 4: The only way to get there if you don't drive
19:01
Speaker 4: is by bus. We don't even have a train station anymore.
19:04
Speaker 4: They'd closed that and then built two hundred houses behind
19:07
Speaker 4: us on the hill. Not great planning, but you know,
19:10
Speaker 4: so we decided, right, we need community. A lot of
19:13
Speaker 4: businesses started to close down there, given the changes with
19:16
Speaker 4: car parking business. It wasn't about customers where with their
19:19
Speaker 4: staff going to park because it was nowhere for their staff,
19:21
Speaker 4: and some of these businesses didn't operate during the bus
19:24
Speaker 4: timetable hours. So we decided we needed more community, and
19:29
Speaker 4: we went wanted more connection because all my research I'm
19:32
Speaker 4: doing is that brick and mortar retail is still relevant
19:35
Speaker 4: and still important. And you know, a shop like ours,
19:40
Speaker 4: and hospitality a restaurant, you people go there to have
19:43
Speaker 4: a chat, you know, to feel part of a community.
19:46
Speaker 3: And so we thought and we would. We live in town,
19:49
Speaker 3: we live in the city.
19:51
Speaker 4: So for us, as we run our business, how do
19:54
Speaker 4: we enjoy our business. We can walk to work, we
19:57
Speaker 4: can get to know our neighbors, we can get the
19:59
Speaker 4: energy from our neighbors. You know, it's symbiotic. I think
20:03
Speaker 4: for us, it was a big decision. Once we made
20:05
Speaker 4: the decision, there was no looking back. And yes, it's
20:08
Speaker 4: a real it's a big space with least, but we
20:10
Speaker 4: feel very positive that this area of Wellington is a
20:14
Speaker 4: unique heritage part of Wellington's where commerce we're started, and
20:17
Speaker 4: Blair and Allen Street in the early part of the
20:19
Speaker 4: twentieth century.
20:20
Speaker 2: Taken over by those horrible nightclubs and bars now terrible places.
20:23
Speaker 2: It's reverting back, aren't they misspent youth?
20:26
Speaker 4: But look, I think we need vibrant hospitality. We need
20:30
Speaker 4: vibrant and wonderful retail experiences because that's how we bring
20:34
Speaker 4: people into our city.
20:35
Speaker 5: And retail is all about customer service. It's about engaging
20:38
Speaker 5: and connecting with people as they come in store. And
20:40
Speaker 5: we know that eighty five percent of sales and retail
20:43
Speaker 5: happened through bricks and mortar. They don't happen online. There's
20:46
Speaker 5: a big eight.
20:48
Speaker 2: I would have thought that was Miles lissn't it.
20:50
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's a big misnomer that a lot of people
20:53
Speaker 5: buy online, but actually they still come into store. Most
20:57
Speaker 5: people actually look online first and they do their research
21:00
Speaker 5: online first and then they come into store. And when
21:04
Speaker 5: you sell, when you're in a sector like all of
21:07
Speaker 5: the stores down Thorn and Co Fodip, where you are
21:09
Speaker 5: destination stores where you generally people would go, they would
21:13
Speaker 5: drive to those stores, they would work around. They might
21:16
Speaker 5: need a vehicle to transport any item they've bought, or
21:19
Speaker 5: they might order something for delivery. You need to have
21:23
Speaker 5: you need to know that you can go and park
21:25
Speaker 5: at lately and be able to have good access. And
21:28
Speaker 5: it's such an open area down through there. If it's
21:31
Speaker 5: terrible weather and you can't park, people won't go because
21:34
Speaker 5: you know you are going to get the full throttle
21:36
Speaker 5: of the wind and rain and Wellington And so you've
21:39
Speaker 5: really got to think about that, about the whole space
21:42
Speaker 5: and how do we accommodate those that do want to
21:46
Speaker 5: use a vehicle and those that do want to use
21:48
Speaker 5: a bus or a bike, and how do we get
21:51
Speaker 5: that integration of everybody working together, not one at isolation
21:55
Speaker 5: to the other.
21:56
Speaker 2: Can I just interrupt their kar and just ask you
21:58
Speaker 2: have you seen any positive change lately? And the retail
22:01
Speaker 2: set the saying they're now looking to Lisa looking to
22:04
Speaker 2: open up again.
22:05
Speaker 5: We are hearing some positive sales stoes is from a
22:09
Speaker 5: number of variety of stores, and that's really around people
22:12
Speaker 5: identifying niches in the market, being more agile, pivoting to
22:16
Speaker 5: make sure that they are addressing those areas where there's
22:20
Speaker 5: an opportunity and so being really and then also providing
22:24
Speaker 5: really good customer service. Customer service drives seventy percent of
22:28
Speaker 5: sales in retail. So if you've got really good customer
22:31
Speaker 5: engagement and customer service and you're welcoming people in your store,
22:34
Speaker 5: you're going to sell more. We all know what it's like,
22:36
Speaker 5: don't we. Michelle, and we go into a shop and
22:38
Speaker 5: we get really well looked to after we sometimes spend
22:41
Speaker 5: more than we just feel comfortable.
22:43
Speaker 2: Involve me in this too, you know, it involve me.
22:45
Speaker 2: I mean we feel comfortable. We just feel like, oh,
22:48
Speaker 2: that was a good service. I will buy something. Yeah.
22:52
Speaker 4: I had a great experience at Unity yesterday, which is
22:54
Speaker 4: one of my favorite Wellington businesses, and another great experience
22:57
Speaker 4: at more Willson's. And those are the businesses that I
22:59
Speaker 4: always go back to because I get amazing customer serves.
23:02
Speaker 4: And we pride ourselves on giving amazing customer serves. I mean,
23:05
Speaker 4: we had a fabulous Saturday in our show, and a
23:09
Speaker 4: lot of it is around that taking time to listen
23:12
Speaker 4: to people what do they need. We also offer something
23:15
Speaker 4: that you can't do online. We lend people product to
23:17
Speaker 4: take home and try if you're looking at buy something
23:20
Speaker 4: that's an expensive product for their home. But I think
23:23
Speaker 4: you know everything I'm reading at the moment. Even big
23:26
Speaker 4: thehome online businesses like Amazon are now investing in brick
23:30
Speaker 4: and mortar because they understand that is how you get
23:33
Speaker 4: a much better customer experience.
23:36
Speaker 5: Absolutely, I think it's really critical and you're just that
23:40
Speaker 5: human touch that you get from that experience. And if
23:44
Speaker 5: nothing else that we've got out of COVID, surely we've
23:47
Speaker 5: got that. We want to engage with each other.
23:49
Speaker 2: Now. I want to move quite quickly on a couple
23:51
Speaker 2: of things because I'm running out of time and I'm
23:53
Speaker 2: enjoying the company. I'm hearing a number of businesses and
23:56
Speaker 2: negotiating really really hard on lease deals, even asking for
24:00
Speaker 2: things like six or eight months free rent on a
24:02
Speaker 2: five year lease. Now, I haven't heard of deals like
24:05
Speaker 2: this for a long time. Michelle, you have done a
24:07
Speaker 2: lot of negotiating for leases over years, and what have
24:11
Speaker 2: you heard around town? There's some really good deals out there.
24:13
Speaker 4: I think there are deals to be had. I think
24:17
Speaker 4: the biggest issue in Wellington the op X. You know,
24:19
Speaker 4: it's not just about the rent, you know, the biggest
24:22
Speaker 4: issue is you know, and I so in the bigger
24:25
Speaker 4: the space, the more problematic that is. But I think
24:28
Speaker 4: landlords who are probably understanding that they need someone in
24:34
Speaker 4: their building are going to be able to have a
24:36
Speaker 4: little chat to you. And I think it's far better
24:39
Speaker 4: to get someone in your space than have it empty.
24:42
Speaker 4: And I think a lot of landlords understand now, I mean,
24:45
Speaker 4: I know that this is what happened done Britain, mart
24:48
Speaker 4: and Auckland. They made these leases happen They've got people
24:51
Speaker 4: in six months free rent just to get them in
24:54
Speaker 4: to so show them how good the space can be.
24:56
Speaker 4: So I would like to see some of our landlords
24:59
Speaker 4: here in Wellington, you know, basically offer some free.
25:02
Speaker 2: They need to be more flexible.
25:03
Speaker 4: They need to be far more flexible, because you know,
25:05
Speaker 4: I think it's really important we need that activity in
25:09
Speaker 4: our city.
25:10
Speaker 5: What are you hearing, Caroen, Well, you've got a number
25:11
Speaker 5: of businesses that you don't want to have empty stores
25:15
Speaker 5: next to you or two or three down the road.
25:17
Speaker 5: So if you can have all of the stores full,
25:21
Speaker 5: it generates and it generates foot traffic and people coming in.
25:25
Speaker 5: The businesses are going to thrive, they'll be more settled,
25:29
Speaker 5: they'll be able, You'll have sustainability through it. Nobody wants
25:33
Speaker 5: to see empty shop runs.
25:35
Speaker 2: But certainly are you hearing deals are getting done though
25:37
Speaker 2: pretty good deals.
25:38
Speaker 5: It's a great opportunity to do good deals right now.
25:40
Speaker 5: And I think when landlords aren't being flexible in that space,
25:45
Speaker 5: there's enough empty space that that businesses can go somewhere
25:48
Speaker 5: else and ask the same questions.
25:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I want to talk next about events. I
25:55
Speaker 2: think big events are really crucial to our city being
25:59
Speaker 2: buoyant again. I mean, I'm thinking of when we had
26:01
Speaker 2: the sevens, when we had the car races. Some of
26:03
Speaker 2: us would remember the car races in the city. We seem,
26:06
Speaker 2: you know, big concerts at sky Stadium, you know, big
26:09
Speaker 2: stuff happening in the city. It just makes your city
26:11
Speaker 2: feel better. We're heading into summer where we typically see
26:13
Speaker 2: a lot of events. The second black Caps versus England
26:16
Speaker 2: tested Debate and Reserve over the weekend saw two or
26:19
Speaker 2: three days completely sold out. Great. How are important our
26:25
Speaker 2: events Krolyn to our city? Critical?
26:27
Speaker 5: Absolutely. We know an event like Wow, for example, brings
26:31
Speaker 5: a lot of people into the city and they come
26:33
Speaker 5: in and not only do they spend in retail, but
26:35
Speaker 5: they shop through hospitality. They go and see a wide
26:38
Speaker 5: range of sites around Wellington that you know. They go
26:43
Speaker 5: to Tipapa, they will go to the tanical gardens, they
26:46
Speaker 5: might go to the Bagonia House, to all sorts of
26:49
Speaker 5: different areas that create engagement and interest in the city.
26:54
Speaker 5: And then they go back and they tell their friends
26:56
Speaker 5: in Farna about what they've seen and they get them
26:58
Speaker 5: to come into the city. And so events are critical
27:01
Speaker 5: for getting people in and getting this bend up to
27:04
Speaker 5: support businesses.
27:05
Speaker 2: Did either of you see any of the coverage of
27:08
Speaker 2: the Test match between the Black Caps and England where
27:10
Speaker 2: they had the zoom the photos of all over Wellington,
27:15
Speaker 2: Oh my god, I actually physically had a tear at
27:18
Speaker 2: one stage. I went, wee, we forget. We live in
27:22
Speaker 2: the most beautiful city in the world.
27:25
Speaker 5: And the Saturday images were amazing because the sky was blue,
27:28
Speaker 5: although there was a bit of wind. Yesterday was pretty gray,
27:31
Speaker 5: but it's still such a beautiful, picturesque city to come
27:34
Speaker 5: to that when you see those sites, it does look
27:37
Speaker 5: like a Pacific island almost and you might be thinking
27:40
Speaker 5: that it's thirty degrees outside, but it is just so
27:43
Speaker 5: beautiful and picturesque and so easy to access. Oh you
27:46
Speaker 5: wonder why people wouldn't want to come here.
27:48
Speaker 4: It's such a compact, beautiful city and a natural harbor.
27:52
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, walking around Orange le bat. I
27:54
Speaker 4: went to Harbourside Market yesterday. Even in the wind, it
27:57
Speaker 4: was still a joyous occasion.
28:00
Speaker 2: I remember a neck King doing this exact show with
28:03
Speaker 2: me as a guest, and she said, you know, Nick,
28:05
Speaker 2: I wish people would stop moaning about Wellington if we
28:07
Speaker 2: had decent weather, when none of us would be able
28:09
Speaker 2: to afford to live here. That's all right.
28:11
Speaker 4: This is the most livable city I've ever lived in.
28:14
Speaker 4: You know, I'm lucky I live in the city. I
28:16
Speaker 4: walk everywhere. We hardly use the car, you know, and
28:19
Speaker 4: I love the fact that, you know, going back, I'm
28:21
Speaker 4: not against cycle lanes. I think it's great that people
28:24
Speaker 4: can ride through the city. It's just that I think
28:27
Speaker 4: we need to have a little bit more balanced conversation
28:30
Speaker 4: around you know, businesses, cycle lanes, walking, et cetera. But
28:35
Speaker 4: this city I can walk all my favorite restaurants, you know, food,
28:40
Speaker 4: you know, supermarkets, museums, galleries.
28:43
Speaker 3: It's fantastic.
28:44
Speaker 2: Now. Sorry, once again, Michelle is very rude to me
28:47
Speaker 2: to cut in, But I want to ask you one
28:49
Speaker 2: quick question, yes or no from both of you, because
28:51
Speaker 2: I want to find out where you take someone special?
28:53
Speaker 2: Yes or no? Does it concern you that there's no
28:56
Speaker 2: big events at sky Stadium over the next wild and.
29:00
Speaker 3: No, absolutely it does concern me absolutely.
29:04
Speaker 2: Right the time that I most enjoy with our business
29:06
Speaker 2: hours to ask our guests some extremely there's someone that
29:12
Speaker 2: means really a lot to you, like a mother or father,
29:15
Speaker 2: or an auntie or a uncle that's never been to
29:16
Speaker 2: Wellington before. You're picking them up at eleven o'clock tomorrow,
29:20
Speaker 2: Carolyn Young, what are you going to do with them?
29:22
Speaker 5: Well, if we say someone really special, like my mother
29:24
Speaker 5: who sadly passed about twenty years ago, but she loved roses,
29:28
Speaker 5: So I would take mom to the rose garden in
29:33
Speaker 5: the Botanical Gardens and we'd go through the Beginnia House
29:36
Speaker 5: for a couple of reasons. One is because it's really
29:37
Speaker 5: beautiful it's protected from the wind, but two is because
29:41
Speaker 5: it might not be there much longer, so you really
29:43
Speaker 5: need to get out there and see what's there, have
29:45
Speaker 5: lunch in the cafe there, head lunch over the weekend.
29:48
Speaker 5: It was really lovely, and then it would go up
29:50
Speaker 5: to the top of the potential gardens to the skyline
29:52
Speaker 5: there and see that amazing view. Take some good photos
29:55
Speaker 5: to have lasting memories.
29:58
Speaker 2: Right Michelle, We've got a lovely text here saying that
30:00
Speaker 2: she's the youngest Youngish listener saying to a big shout
30:03
Speaker 2: out to you because you help young creative people. Also
30:07
Speaker 2: had a couple of texts asking if you'd stand thought
30:10
Speaker 2: about standing for me. I've already had that conversation with
30:14
Speaker 2: you which you've laughed at me. But anyway, what are
30:17
Speaker 2: you going to do with that very special person before
30:20
Speaker 2: you become mayor of Wellington? You've picked them up at
30:22
Speaker 2: the airport, and what are you going to do with them?
30:23
Speaker 4: I would pick them up at the airport and drive
30:25
Speaker 4: them round Orangele Bay because it's the most beautiful harbor
30:29
Speaker 4: and we might stop for a moment, We might even
30:31
Speaker 4: go for a walk, probably run into about ten people
30:34
Speaker 4: we know, because that's Wellington. I would probably take them
30:38
Speaker 4: maybe to Prefab for lunch, because it's got great vibes
30:41
Speaker 4: and great energy and Bridget's always amazing. She always makes
30:44
Speaker 4: you welcome. I would probably botanical gardens, Oh my gosh.
30:50
Speaker 4: We spent so many fabulous visits there, went to weddings there,
30:55
Speaker 4: our children played sport on Anderson Park. We might even
30:59
Speaker 4: take a drive up to the top of Mount Victoria
31:01
Speaker 4: just to have a look at our amazing city and dinner. Well,
31:06
Speaker 4: I love Rita, it's one of my favorite restaurants. Well,
31:09
Speaker 4: we might be heading off to Hummingbird. Who knows in
31:11
Speaker 4: the near future.
31:12
Speaker 2: Hopefully in the near future. Retail New Zealand Chief executive
31:16
Speaker 2: Karen and I'm merry Christmas and thank you for all
31:18
Speaker 2: you do for Wellington and retail people and our show.
31:21
Speaker 2: I hope you have a really good break. I know
31:22
Speaker 2: you're going away. You skouting about that before. Michelle Beckhouse,
31:25
Speaker 2: thank you and thank you for bringing your amazing business
31:28
Speaker 2: to Courtney Place. I think it looks beautiful, It's fantastic.
31:32
Speaker 2: Hopefully you've got a good deal from one of the
31:33
Speaker 2: hardest landlords in the country, So hopefully you've got a
31:36
Speaker 2: good deal and got a bit of free rent out
31:37
Speaker 2: of it. But we welcome you to that area and
31:40
Speaker 2: hope that after your little breakover New Year, you think
31:43
Speaker 2: twice about running for mea and put your name in
31:45
Speaker 2: the hat and say ah I can let my family
31:47
Speaker 2: run the retail part. I'll go for Maya or Weornington
31:50
Speaker 2: would be great. Both of you. Thank you, have a
31:51
Speaker 2: great Christmas.
31:52
Speaker 1: For more from News Talks B listen live on air
31:55
Speaker 1: or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
31:58
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