Retailing in New Zealand
Retailing in New Zealand is an important sector in the economy of New Zealand, as a channel for a large proportion of household spending and international visitor spending.
The overall size of the sector has been increasing since the end of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with retail sales increasing by 30% between 1999 and 2005. One contributing factor was the growth of larger stores with greater buying power and economies of scale, at the cost of smaller bricks and mortar merchants. Another contributing factor was low price inflation, with the price of imported goods falling 12% during that period.
By 2004, about 15% of New Zealand businesses were retail outlets. These businesses accounted for 19% of total employment and 7.5% of the Gross Domestic Product with total sales of about $51 billion. Supermarket and grocery stores made up about 28% of non-auto sales and 16% of retail employees.
The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand had a major impact on the retail sector. Sales dropped 15% in the June 2020 quarter before increasing 7.4% in the September 2020 quarter. The sector recovered faster than originally expected.
In 2021, BDO identified the key trends in the New Zealand retail sector to be rising staffing costs, increased online shopping, changing technology, and the need to improve efficiency without compromising customer experience.
Supermarkets and grocery stores
Sales values in the sector increased from $8.3531 billion in 2000 to $22.5867 billion in 2021. The number of businesses increased from 2,679 to 3,525. The number of employees increased from 46,700 to 62,600.Foodstuffs
- Four Square, established in 1925, has 224 stores.
- New World, established in 1963, has 142 stores.
- PAK'nSAVE, established in 1985, has 57 stores.
- New World Metro, established in 2002, has four stores.
Woolworths New Zealand
- Woolworths, established in 1929, and again 2023, has 184 stores.
- SuperValue, established in 1964, has 38 stores.
- FreshChoice, established in 1995, has 33 stores.
- Woolworths Metro, established in 2024, has four stores.
Independent
- Faro, established in 2006, has 7 stores, all in Auckland.
- Night 'n Day, established in 1984, has 51 stores.
Hardware, building and garden supplies
Home decorating
- Resene ColorShop, established in Wellington CBD in 1975, has 60 stores.
- Guthrie Bowron, established in Christchurch CBD in 1932, has 50 stores.
- ColourPlus, a franchise established in 1999 in Hastings Central, has nine stores. This is down from 26 stores in 2016, and 40 stores in 1999.
Garden centres
- Palmers Garden Centre, established in Glen Eden, Auckland in 1912, has 12 stores.
- Kings Plant Barn, established in Takapuna, Auckland in 1992, has eight stores, all within Auckland.
Fuel retailing
The sector has undergone significant consolidation between 2000 and 2021. The number of businesses almost halved from 1,245 to 660. The number of employees also halved from 12,400 to 6,200.
Sales values in the sector increased from $3.4436 billion in 2000 to $7.642 billion in 2021. It reached a record high of $9.0095 billion in 2022.
Petrol stations
- Z Energy has 227 petrol stations. It traces its origins back to 1912.
- BP has 240 petrol stations. It began in 1946.
- Mobil New Zealand has 167 petrol stations. It was established in Wellington Central in 1896.
- GAS Petrol Service Stations has 127 petrol stations. It started in 1999.
- Gull New Zealand has 113 petrol stations. It started in Frankton, Hamilton in 1999.
- Challenge has 78 stations. It started in 1998.
- Waitomo has 70 stations. It was established in 1947.
- Allied Petroleum has 69 petrol stations. It began in Wigram, Christchurch in 1993.
Pharmaceutical and other store based retailing
The number of businesses has declined from 6,423 to 5,772. The number of employees increased from 19,000 to 23,600.
Pharmacies
- Chemist Warehouse is a franchise of 30 discount pharmacies; its first store opened in Glenfield, Auckland in 2017.
- Unichem is a franchise of 278 community pharmacies, launched in 1981.
- Life Pharmacy is a franchise of 65 upmarket pharmacies, launched in 1995.
- Health 2000 is a chain of dietary supplement stores established in 1993. It has 51 stores.
Variety
- Sunny's Variety Stores is a chain of five variety stores, established in Whangamatā in 1995.
Department stores
National chains
- The Warehouse has 89 stores. It is part of The Warehouse Group, and opened its first store in Takapuna, Auckland in 1982.
- Farmers has 59 stores. It is owned by James Pascoe Group and opened its first store in 1909.
- Harvey Norman has 44 stores. The first store opened in Wairau Valley, Auckland in 1997.
- Kmart has 21 stores. It is owned by Wesfarmers, and opened its first store in Henderson, Auckland in 1988.
- EziBuy has six stores. It was established in Palmerston North Central in 1978.
Regional department stores
- Ballantynes is a Christchurch-based chain of two department stores established in 1854.
- Smith & Caughey's, established in 1880, has a store in Auckland. Their second store in Newmarket, Auckland closed in 2024.
- David Jones has had a store in Newmarket, Auckland since 2019. It previously had a store in Wellington CBD between 2016 and 2022.
Defunct stores
- Arthur Barnett was established in Dunedin Central in 1903. It had five stores by 1992, but was taken over by H & J Smith in 2015.
- D.I.C. was established in Dunedin Central in 1884 and had 16 stores by 1988. It closed in 1992.
- H & J Smith was an Invercargill-based chain of three stores established in 1900 and closed in 2023.
- Kirkcaldie & Stains was established on Lambton Quay in Wellington CBD in 1863. It closed in 2016.
- DEKA was a chain of department stores established in 1988 through the rebranding of Woolworths and McKenzies stores. It had 61 stores in 2000. The stores were closed or rebranded as Farmers stores in 2001.
Electrical and electronic goods retailing
Electronic goods
- Noel Leeming has 68 stores. The first store opened in Barrington, Christchurch in 1927.
- Lighting Direct, established in 1974, has 24 stores nationwide.
- Lightingplus, established in 1982 in Ponsonby, Auckland, has 30 stores.
- Smiths City has 23 stores. There are no stores in Auckland. Its first store opened in Christchurch CBD in 1918.
- JB Hi-Fi has 14 stores. It opened its first store in Auckland CBD in 2007.
- Bond & Bond had 24, including 18 in Auckland, until its closure in 2013. The first store opened in Silverdale, Auckland in 1875.
- Dick Smith Electronics closed in 2016. It had 62 stores at the time. It went through several changes of ownership. Dick Smith Holdings
- Hill and Stewart operated between 1951 and 2010. It had six stores around Auckland as of 2009.
- Jaycar has 20 stores.
Telecommunications
Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing
Sales values in the sector increased from $1,811.1 million in 2000 to $3,942 million in 2021. The number of businesses increased from 2,442 to 2,865. The number of employees increased from 15,000 to 21,000.Clothing
- Just Group has 167 stores: 45 Just Jeans stores, 28 Jay Jays stores, 19 Jacqui E stores, 19 Dotti stores, and 11 Portmans stores.
- Cotton On Group has 91 stores: 28 Cotton On stores, 23 Cotton Body stores, 25 Cotton On Kids stores, and 15 Peter Alexander stores. Its Supré chain had 19 stores until its closure in 2020.
- Hallensteins Glassons has 75 stores: 41 Hallenstein Brothers stores, and 34 Glassons stores.
- Barkers has 63 stores: 31 Barkers Mens Clothing stores and 32 Max Fashion stores.
- Bendon Lingerie has 36 lingerie stores.
- Retail Apparel Group has 33 stores: 11 Tarocash stores, nine Johnny Bigg stores, eight yd. stores, and five Connor stores,
- Country Road Group has 19 stores: 11 Country Road stores, and eight Witchery stores.
- Pepkor has 60 Postie stores.
- Rodd & Gunn has 28 stores
- Huffer has 13 stores.
- Icebreaker has 13 stores.
- H&M has nine stores.
- Nike has eight stores.
- Under Armour has four stores.
- R. M. Williams has four stores.
- Zara has one store.
- Pumpkin Patch had 48 stores in 2010, but all physical stores had closed by 2017.
Shoes
- Hannahs, established in 1868, has 70 sites branded as Hannahs and Number One Shoes.
- Overland Footwear Group, established in 1948, has 63 stores branded as Merchant 1948 and Mi Piaci.
- Accent Group, established in 1988, has 60 stores branded as Platypus, Hype DC, The Athlete's Foot, Timberland, Dr. Martens, and SUBTYPE.
- Shoe Clinic is a franchise of 19 sports shoes stores.
- Smith's Sports Shoes is a franchise of 14 sports shoes stores, established on Dominion Road, Auckland in 1949.
- Foot Locker has 13 outlets.
- NOVO Shoes have 13 outlets.
- Maher Shoes has six stores.