Spark closes Whakatane store for safety reasons

Spark has temporarily closed its Whakatane store, after discovering it did not meet the company's own earthquake safety standards.

In a statement, Spark said it was in the process of undertaking a nationwide audit to understand whether the buildings it operated out of met a range of health and safety requirements.

"Unfortunately, we've just discovered that this store [Whakatane] does not reach the Spark policy standard for earthquake resiliency, so it's been temporarily closed for the safety of our staff and customers. Our policy standard is more stringent than government building requirements, so we are making this closure by choice rather than by necessity.

"We apologise for any inconvenience that customers experience from the store closure but we're sure our customers will appreciate that the safety of our staff and customers is paramount."

It said it was investigating opening temporary premises in a safe location as soon as possible - "preferably in the next few weeks".

"The Whakatane store is a valued part of the Spark retail network and we remain absolutely committed to having a Spark presence in town, either by returning to the existing site once remedial work has been completed or by opening at a new location. In the meantime, staff are being redeployed where possible or being assigned work that can be completed remotely.

"We'd prefer not to have to close the store so close to Christmas, but we hope that this announcement demonstrates our commitment to putting the safety of our staff and customers first."

Spark customers can contact the company by chat, phone, via its social channels, or by visiting another store. Papamoa and Rotorua are the two closest options.

More details are available here: https://www.spark.co.nz/contactus.