The coming of international retail giants to New Zealand should not be seen as a threat to local retailers, but should be seen as an opportunity to bring their Kiwi inspiration to the market, a retail marketing expert said.
“Some local brands have been guilty of knocking off overseas ideas, so when brands who are ahead with those ideas turn up here, it would mean they’d need to make their offering even more contemporary and differentiated … and this is great for shopper choice,” Ben Goodale, chair of the Marketing Association of New Zealand’s Agency Council and managing director of JustONE, said in an interview with Inside Retail New Zealand.
Goodale said New Zealand has been “over-reliant on home-grown or Australian retail brands”, meaning the arrival of popular international brands has caused a “huge buzz”.
He said while some major retailers in the UK and the US have closed shop because of the stiff competition from online retailing, he doesn’t see that happening to New Zealand’s retail stores anytime soon.
“We’re in a more immature retail market in New Zealand, where there is still a lot of excitement about great stores,” he explained. “Retail has been playing catch-up.”
“What’s more, the NZ shopper really enjoys going to the shops – traffic here is relatively light to those big overseas market, parking is easy, and people don’t have a problem jumping in their cars. Also, Auckland, by most global rankings, is now one of the world’s great cities and therefore is probably more appealing to leading brands.”
Goodale said because Kiwis are quite happy going to the shops, local retailers still don’t put much effort in improving their omnichannel offering.
“It’s such a different dynamic here. NZ retailers in my experience have been waiting to do it when the market dynamics mean that they really need to, rather than for any other reason,” he stated.
Goodale said with the coming of some international retail heavyweights to the country, he expects more to follow suit. “We’re benefitting from the success of these brands moving into Australia – we are the next stepping stone.”
Of the brands he expects to open shop in the country soon, Ikea topped his list. “Ikea’s eventually coming; it’s been long-rumoured, but surely will be here soon.” He also said he’s expecting David Jones to in due course build beyond their initial Wellington footprint.
The country recently welcomed TopShop, and in the later part of this year, fellow fast fashion brands, Zara and H&M, will open their first stores in New Zealand at the Sylvia Park Mall in Auckland – and hinted they will open their second stores in Christchurch. Tiffany & Co will open at the ground floor of Australis House at 36-38 Customs Street East.
