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Scott & Ricketts Mitre 10 MEGA
Napier & Hastings
The business of Scott and Ricketts Ltd began life in 1956 with Bill Brown, a retired painter in Taradale starting a very small paint and glazing shop. This was the same year that Derek and Audrey Ricketts made the decision to save money, look for a business and work for themselves. The opportunity came for them in 1960 when they heard that a paint shop was for sale in Taradale and Derek approached Bill Brown, only to be told that a Mr Scott from Gisborne had got there first but if he didn’t buy it, Derek could.
Bert Scott bought the business!
A few months later Derek called in to meet Bert Scott in Taradale to see what ‘might have been’. Over a cup of coffee and then a second meeting, Derek was invited to join the business as a partner and expand the company into a larger shop; this was the way that Scott and Ricketts was born!
Derek started working in the shop at 7.00 a.m. 7th January 1961.
The increased capital allowed the shop to be moved to new premises in Taradale, 16 feet wide by 20 feet deep and was one of about 10 shops in a growing area with a population of about 5000 people.
The shop was open Monday to Friday with late night shopping on Friday until 9. p.m. and no weekend trading. The shop sold five brands of paint, wallpaper, pictures, mirrors and had a glass cutting and glazing service which glazed windows for builders and repaired broken windows for insurance companies.
The two working partners and a teenage boy comprised the total staff.
In 1962 the landlord was persuaded to double the size of the shop by extending the building at the rear a further 20 feet deep which resulted in further sales. In April of 1963 Bert Scott sold his half share in the company to Derek and Audrey Ricketts and moved to Wellington.
Numerous enquiries from the public for hardware items prompted just a few hardware lines to be bought and stocked from a local wholesaler. As these quickly sold out, more were stocked and the range was increased as the company moved from a paint and glazing into a domestic hardware business.
By 1964 it was obvious that the shop was totally inadequate in size for future growth and in 1965 an old butchers shop and land on the eastern side of the road was purchased by Dymock Buildings Ltd a building company owned by Derek and Audrey Ricketts and the butcher. In 1966 a block of four new shops, each approximately 25 feet x 60 feet was built, one being occupied by the butcher, another by Scott and Ricketts with the other two leased to an electrical retailer and bargain clothing store retailer.
The paint and hardware business quickly expanded into house wares, china and giftware. During this period house wares became the biggest department in the company and with the installation of a large illuminated (all homebuilt) china and glassware display attracted customers from all over Hawkes Bay and beyond.
The company expanded sideways in 1974 by taking over the premises of the electrical retailer next door and in 1974 a further 30 feet of double-story mezzanine floor was built on at the rear of the building to cope with continued expansion.
During these years Derek’s bed time reading was the Australian hardware journal which featured many success stories about Mitre 10 Australia and the cooperative philosophy which appealed very strongly. Contact was made with Ian Nisbet the Australian company secretary who arranged in 1974 a visit from Jim Mason, the manager of the newly formed Mitre 10 New Zealand and Gordon Gellen who was chairman at that time.
Scott & Ricketts joined Mitre 10 in March 1975, one of the first provincial stores to do so and held our first promotion in May of that year. Mitre 10 meetings were held in Jim Mason’s office in Wairau Road, Auckland about five times a year and attended by all member principals.
Membership of Mitre 10 gave Scott and Ricketts a huge local profile and advantage was taken to service the whole Napier area with advertising catalogues and six promotions a year. Staff and stock levels rapidly expanded over these years and Derek Ricketts was appointed to the Mitre 10 Board in 1979 giving the business further exposure to best practice retailing of those days.
Graeme Ricketts joined his father in the company at the end of 1980 after completing his final Business Studies year at Massey University.
In 1981 an opportunity was taken to buy premises in Dickens Street, Napier and open a second Mitre 10 store in the licensed Napier City area with Graeme being appointed manager. This store opened in November 1981.
Stephen Ricketts, Derek and Audrey’s other son joined the company in 1982 having completed his Business Studies at Massey University thus giving strong managerial expertise into what was to continue to be a rapidly expanding family owned Mitre 10 retail Hardware Company.
In 1982 further expansion occurred in Taradale when the shop was again extended next door into the premises previously occupied by Taradale Bargain Centre.
1983 saw the administration and distribution operations moved to a newly purchased building in Taradale which increased the retail space in both stores. That same year Clausens, a long standing retail giftware shop on Emerson Street in Napier (immediately behind the Napier shop) was purchased which linked the two stores together by covered walkway and stretched from Dickens Street right through to Emerson Street. Eventually the covered walkway was converted to retail shop space.
In 1985 Scott and Ricketts purchased the two existing Hastings Mitre 10 hardware stores from Rob’s Hardware Hastings and traded from premises in Karamu Road and Heretaunga Street thus giving the company and Mitre 10 major exposure in the Hawkes Bay province.
Between 1988 and 1992 expansion continued at a rapid pace. There was a major expansion of the Hastings Heretaunga Street store into one of the first Mitre 10 Home Centres, (opened by The Wizard from Christchurch) occupation of the butchers shop in Taradale, establishment of a garden centre in Napier and a move to a larger administration and distribution centre were just some of the progress that Scott and Ricketts made during those years.
1994 saw the relocation of the Karamu Road store into Havelock North with the purchase of Bridgeman’s Building Supplies. This provided the company with serious access into the timber and building ‘Trade’ market.
The 1990’s saw huge developments in computerisation in the hardware industry and after a trip to Australia Graeme, in conjunction with Mitre10 Central Office people, identified Pacsoft as a suitable system for Mitre10 stores. The system was specifically written for our industry and had major advantages as a point-of-sale and stock management system. Some years later Mitre10 purchased the source code from the Australian supplier and we still continue to use the platform today – albeit somewhat modified!
By the mid-90’s the Ricketts family had stores in each of the four important locations in urban Hawkes Bay – in Napier City, in Taradale, in Hastings City and in Havelock North. They had achieved their goal to dominate the hardware industry in Hawkes Bay. But nothing stays still very long in hardware and by the turn of the century the store in Hastings was too small and there was not sufficient land adjacent to the existing store to allow expansion.
The Ricketts family went shopping and bought a Brewery – the old Leopard Brewery, which had been disused for some years. The intention was to build a state of the art Mitre10 Home Centre but after overseas trips by Graeme and Stephen it became clear we needed to think BIG – Home Centre’s were yesterday’s news; big box Home Improvement stores were the future. To achieve the required size the family needed to acquire a small 1800m2 site adjacent to the Brewery which had a very new building on. Needless to say, this site did not come cheap. The owner was able to purchase a luxury launch in Fiji from the proceeds of his sale to the Ricketts family!
The planning of the new store coincided with the development of the big box program by Mitre10 and as a result Hastings became the first Mitre10 Mega in NZ! It was a challenging time as the concept was being developed by the Mitre10 Support Centre team at the same time as the Ricketts were building the store! But the result was spectacular and the store opened on 5 February 2004.
During the development of the Hastings store an opportunity arose to purchase a site in Napier. The site was under contract to Bunnings who let the option lapse for a few days while waiting ratification from their Australian Head Office. This gave the Ricketts family the opportunity to present the vendors with an equally good offer and thanks to the support of the National Bank requesting additional funds for an as yet unproven concept in NZ, the family obtained the site for a second Mega in Napier.
From the outset the Hastings store was a success. Customers who had developed a taste for big box shopping at supermarkets and at The Warehouse flocked to the store. Not only did the store stock larger quantities of traditional hardware product but new categories were introduced. The store became a true one-stop Home Improvement store.
After a period of settling in at the Hastings Mega, the Ricketts family started work on a Mega for Napier and in December 2006 this store opened – the 15th in the Mega network in New Zealand. Being able to incorporate a raft of learning’s from the Hastings store and subsequent Mega developments, this store was an instant success. A true destination store it is located on one of the major arterial routes in Napier and is easily accessible from all parts of the city. Occupying a 2.2 hectare site, the Napier store has a large area dedicated to trade supplies. With a 2200m3 undercover drive thru and a yard of similar size, trade sales have become an important part of the Mega business in Napier. There is a separate division which has been established to cater for off-site trade business, led by a Trade Manager with trade reps and a trade support team looking after a large trade customer base.
With the Napier store out of the way the Ricketts family decided it was time for the next challenge. When the opportunity to establish a Mega in Paraparaumu arose, the family didn’t hesitate. Knowing that managing a store 3 hours from home base would be a challenge, they teamed up with a Canadian couple, Vince & Tricia Indo and in partnership developed Mega Kapiti which opened in March 2011.
Not ones to sit still, the Ricketts family also realised that their Hastings Mega was too small. In particular trade business growth in Hastings was being hampered by a drive thru that was too small. To fix the problem the family set out to find a new site and in 2010 acquired 2.2 hectares of land on which to build a larger store that would mirror the store in Napier. The site is a part of a larger retail development which encompasses The Warehouse and several smaller retail tenancies. As this book goes to press the team at Scott & Ricketts are getting ready to set up this latest store with opening scheduled for Labour Weekend 2011. With a huge trade area (30% bigger than Napier), large garden centre and expanded retail offer, this store will once again set the standards for Home Improvement retail in NZ.
So what next for the Ricketts family? While the immediate focus is on growing the opportunities in Hawkes Bay and Kapiti, the family will continue to review opportunities as they come along. With Graeme and Stephen just reaching middle-age, with lots of energy and enthusiasm left yet and a third generation in the wings, you can be sure there will be more to the Scott & Ricketts story……
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