Mitre 10 Motueka is nailing it. The store has scooped a coup this month, winning the ‘Store of the Year’ award for the second year in a row.
Their win was announced at Mitre 10’s annual gala, held this year in Hamilton. It followed a week-long trade expo.
Owners David and Maria Richards say that after last year’s win their aim has been to “keep improving and maintain that standard”.
“Our goal is always to strive for excellence, both with our store and with our community,” David explains.
He says they work hard to create a culture that drives a “family feel” within the business, and “doing the little things consistently” is the key.
This means showing appreciation, offering encouragement, and saying thank you to their staff.
Their unofficial store theme this year has been “doing more for ‘24” – and this isn’t just about sales.
More respect, more fun and more integrity are also strong messages that David and Maria like to see shine through – and they try to lead by example.
Maria says that David is never behind a locked door.
“He’s on the floor, and doesn’t generally expect the team to do anything he wouldn’t do himself,” she says.
When the store was announced as one of the three finalists, this year alongside Opotiki and Fielding, the team quickly picked up on the excitement and rose to the challenge.
“Everyone just pulled together and worked incredibly hard,” Maria summarises.
The pair say that since Covid, each year has had its challenges – lockdowns, supply shortages, sickness and the soaring cost of living – and the team faces the challenges by “positively looking forward”.
All stores are judged across seven measures, including customer feedback, team engagement, financials, stock-holding and inventory, and store benchmarks. The data is gathered throughout the year, and the data is fed back to the teams.
The finalists are announced across a number of different categories – including Garden Centre, Trade, and Store of the Year awards, and a team of head office executives make an unscheduled visit for final judging.
The judges acknowledged the Motueka store’s success despite “today’s challenging trading environment”.
Their feedback spoke of the excellence within each department and commended the staff’s product knowledge and enthusiasm.
“Upon entering the store, you immediately sense the team’s dedication and pride resonating throughout every corner.”
Those corners are about to expand a little further, as David and Maria have just taken over the Wakatū lease for the recently-closed Antonius European Bakery, which sits on the north-west corner of the Mitre 10 building.
Their plan, pending council consents, is to expand their garden centre by 30 per cent to introduce “more stock [and] more amazing colour”.
Demolition is to start this week, and they are hoping to have the work finished by February next year.
