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BUSINESS & INNOVATIONBUSINESS & INNOVATION

Home to about 13,000 residents, Gore

is the quintessential New Zealand

town, long treasured for its range of

shops, cafes and businesses that service

thousands more from the surrounding

rural district. Its CBD has always been a

favoured destination for farming families

to socialise, use services and re-stock

provisions.

Although Gore hasn’t been affected as

much as other areas by changing consumer

spending patterns, the closure of some

stores was enough to sound warning bells

across its business community. This was

picked up by Gore’s progressive council as

a time for action. What followed has been

a unique solution that has re-engaged both

the retail community and consumers.

In 2015 Gore District Mayor Tracy

Hicks met with Gore’s CBD community to

identify their common goals. Before long

a joint business and council initiative was

launched under the GoRetail banner.

Working with town centre revitalisation

specialists First Retail Group, stakeholders

developed a comprehensive programme

of discovery and action aimed at the CBD

actively ‘meeting its market.’

First Retail’s Lorraine Nicholson believes

rapid changes in the retail landscape have

dramatically altered consumers’ wants and

needs in recent years.

“Gore is listening to its residents,

visitors and the local business community

in making sure the town centre meets

expectations in terms of range and offer,”

she said.

Understanding these expectations,

sharing Gore’s goals and seeking feedback

has been a joint effort between retailers,

the council and the local media.

Hokonui Radio host Luke Howden

has backed the initiative from the start.

Through his breakfast show and social

media pages, he has been actively ‘taking

the pulse’ of the community and feeding

ideas back to businesses.

“Listeners have been quick to share

what they like and what they want to see

more of. It’s certainly something that’s

captivated our whole community,” he said.

Feedback uncovered the need for

retailers to widen stock ranges, look to

new categories and develop consistency in

opening hours.

“Matching expectations around

opening hours in smaller towns is always

a challenge. While shoppers expect

Changes to consumer spending patterns, brought about through online shopping, busier lifestyles and a tightening economy have impacted many towns and cities across New Zealand. In order to combat the trend before it took its toll on their own doorstep, Gore’s business community grouped together and developed a strategy to protect their treasured township.WORDS SONIA GERKEN - GORE DISTRICT COUNCIL

trends, independent businesses in Gore

have decided Sundays are best as a day

for family, friends and sport so they

have elected to remain closed, except

during key seasons such as the lead-up to

Christmas.”

Despite being closed Sundays, business

owners agreed local retailers should still

be able to trade online, with customers

assured they can collect their purchases

the very next day or have them delivered.

This is where the GoRetail digital strategy

comes into play.

For some years now many businesses in

the town have been punching above their

weight in e-commerce. Every day orders

from retailers wing their way across the

globe making Gore one of New Zealand’s

flagships for online trading. As part of the

new digital strategy, the goal is to help

other store owners reach beyond their

traditional boundaries and achieve the

same online success.

One businesswoman experiencing

that success is Joanne Hall from Donald

Buckley Photographics. As part of a sector

that has changes year to year, she is kept

busy transforming her business areas and

ranges to reflect consumer demand.

Along with her store on Gore’s Main

Street, Joanne has embarked on a

comprehensive online strategy to grow

awareness of spending attrition. “We

realised there was a lot of our type of

work being sent out of town, and other

businesses were in the same boat. What

was needed was a website that brought

together Gore’s wider retail offer –

highlighting the products and services that

are available in our town,” Joanne said.

Ergo, Gore’s collective e-commerce

portal goretail.nz – a platform to showcase

what Gore has on offer. Along with the

online strategy, the GoRetail group has

developed a mentorship programme that

helps retailers leverage all aspects of their

businesses to build retail capability and

performance.

While still in its early stages, the

initiative has already been seeing results

and has ultimately created a stronger, more

collaborative business community striving

toward the same goal.

“Our vision is to make Gore New

Zealand’s most commercially resilient

provincial town, and with GoRetail I think

we are definitely on the right track,” Mayor

Hicks said.

“Gore is listening to its residents, visitors and the local business community in making sure the town centre meets expectations in terms of range and offer”

businesses to be open extended hours,

it’s simply not possible but there are

solutions,” Lorraine said.

Across New Zealand retailers have been

rationalising opening hours, with Sundays

a key focus. Mayor Hicks said the local

solution to this has seen a collaborative

approach from retailers that retains Gore’s

lifestyle and values while meeting the

needs of its community.

“Based on business feedback and

retailgo

84 Main St, Gore 9710 Call us! 03 208 9165

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