Average retail sales significantly higher than forecasts at the opening of New Zealand’s newest retail store, bode well for the sector, according to its owner.

Shoppers formed 200-metre-long queues and waited for over an hour, with some even travelling from Taupo to be among the first to experience a new mega-retail concept introduced to New Zealand.

Nido, a $60m locally owned furniture and homewares retailer opened the first stage of their 27,000 sqm store after 18 months of construction over the weekend.

Vinod Kumar, Nido’s CEO informed that the rate of transactions during the first two days far surpassed their expectations and queues to enter the store got progressively larger over the course of the three days as word spread about the launch.

“One of the things that surprised us from the weekend was the number of customers we talked to who had travelled from out of their region to visit the store. We even had customers from Waikato and Wellington telling us they no longer had to travel overseas to find a homewares product offering that matched their style aesthetic,” he said.

Kumar, who has been twice voted New Zealand Retailer of the Year, also informed that the second floor of the store will open in the weeks following the country’s move to Level 1, adding, “The store’s success is expected to provide a further boost for the economy with the creation of 90 more jobs in the coming months.”

“We have sourced products from NZ, Europe and the U.S. and will be the largest retail operation in the country,” adding, “The locally owned and operated store, which opened after nine years of research into the most innovative retail models internationally, house 80 exclusive brands and feature more than 100 display rooms to be continuously updated.”

– TIN Bureau