eKourier July 2014

FEATURES Kia Ora New Zealand I recently had the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and visit our centres and also see a few of our competitors’ centres. It’s great for me to see our centres as it highlights the activities behind the numbers we see in Finance. Below is a summary of the trip and some of my key learnings. From Palmerston North we headed to Napier, another 2 hour drive. Napier is a coastal resort town which was very scenic and touristy. Napier has Onekawa and Hastings within 20 minutes drive so a good base to see these 3 centres. Napier also delivered a meal which I always see as one of New Zealands finest – lamb shanks!

Darren Marshall and I flew into Wellington on Sunday. Monday

Next morning we collected Andrew at the Airport and he joined the trip once again. Then it was on to Hastings where Alan showed us around. The centre was larger than expected and was in excellent condition. Hastings has the highest UV rating in the world, according to Alan, this explained the faded sign. We then met Jayne at Napier who showed us around the centre and also explained the key issues, follow ups etc. Jayne is relatively new as a Manager and her enthusiasm and energy was great to see. We also met Joshua who manages Onekawa for half of the day and the balance is managed remotely from Napier. What surprised me with Onekawa was despite its low visibility, it still attracts customers. This is a clear indication that our web presence and customer follow up is crucial. The ‘Three Musketeers’ then headed off to Lake Tapou which is half way across the island. We arrived as night was setting in. The area is very touristy with hotels, bars and cafes. That night we shared all our learnings over the last few days and re-assessed our challenges ahead. The next morning we headed off early and passed Rotorua and saw a few of the beautiful bubbling springs. We then arrived in Tauranga where Duncan and Bev were waiting to welcome us and show us around their spotless centre. The centre is doing very well and has hit 78% occupancy.

morning we headed out with the NZ Operations Manager Andrew Kirkham, which should have been simple, but things are never that simple when Andrew is driving. We did do a lovely scenic trip on Motorways all around Wellington while trying to see our centre from the Motorway. Finally we got it right and drove past our magnifi- cent orange centre all freshly painted. One can see it from miles away! The Wellington centre is a large centre with significant opportunities as well as space for additional storage. Sue and Larry showed us around the centre. We have significantly changed the mix of units and brought on the Wine Storage. I was amazed at how much work there is to convert a purchased centre, especially one with the complexities and size of the Wellington centre. On Tuesday morning we headed to Wanganui, about a 3 hour drive. Karina showed us around. The centre was in excellent condition and very clean. Being a small town, activity is lower and one needs to monitor prices closely and be aware of what competi- tors are doing. Dynamic pricing needs to be continuously actioned. around. Hayley was enthusiastic and energetic which is great to see, with pages of customer follow ups to be actioned. Once again, a very clean and well organised centre. We spent some time going through merchandise and merchandise margins. From there it was back to Palmerston North where Hayley showed us

Hamilton and visited a few competitors along the way.

Three long days of driving and covering over 1,000km saw us reach Auckland in the early evening. Darren and I were saddened to hear that Andrew did not want to enjoy our wonderful company and have another dinner with us! On Friday we first headed to Mt Eden where we were shown around by Shane and Craig. Mt Eden is a well organised and busy centre which has shown excellent growth. Good to see the basement where we are planning to convert parking into storage. newest recruit Steffi. The centre has hit 80% and continues to grow well. With both Auckland centres doing well this drives the profitability for the entire NZ Operation. However, it was clearly evident that what happens in the big city does not always reflect what is happening in Regional Areas. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to NZ and was very impressed with the ownership Centre Managers and Teams showed. I was also impressed with the cleanliness of the centres. Well done Team NZ and thanks for your wonderful hospitality. Anthony Rous Chief Financial Officer Then onto Three Kings where we met Leon and Bev (NZ TSM) who were training our

We then headed up to Auckland via

Kennards Kourier July 2014

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