KEY POINTS:
Australian owners of New Zealand retail operations are coming to realise that the two economies are running at different speeds, says Noel Leeming Group chief executive Andrew Dutkiewicz.
He took over at the company eight months ago and said at the time the Australian and New Zealand economies
had been running at a similar speed.
Australian investors in New Zealand retail assumed that was still the case and assumed New Zealand sale growth was the same as a strong period in Australian, he said.
But he said New Zealand retail spending was slowing due to less demand for housing which reduced consumer confidence and in a more direct sense higher interest rates and petrol prices had left people with less money in their pockets.
Dutkiewicz said that one of his main tasks when he took over was aimed at differentiating the two brands in the group - Noel Leeming and Bond & Bond. Neither had stood out in a a market that includes Harvey Norman, Woolworths-owned Dick Smith Electronics, and JB's Hi Fi, an Australian company that recently set up in Auckland.
Since taking over Noel Leeming, Dutkiewicz said there had been progress differentiating the two brands and with improving stocking at Bond & Bond.
The company had focused marketing on customers who came into stores with a clear intention of buying a product so it was important that there was an adequate stock of products, he said.
"There is nothing worse than a customer who decides to buy a product but when they go into the shop it is not in stock, he said.
He said customer service had been improved at Noel Leeming stores.
Originally from South Africa, Dutkiewicz worked for several years as an engineer in the mining sector.
He moved to Australia where he worked as a management consultant and spent some time working alongside Dick Smith.
He said that his background in engineering had influenced his approach to management.
"I am focused on using the numbers and measurement systems to understand trends and on what does work and what does not.
"I introduced a more rigorous approach to promotion and the analysis of traffic using engineering training.
There has been speculation the group had been considering a sale to Australian retailer Harvey Norman.
In its recent annual report, Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey said the company was investigating other retail opportunities in the New Zealand market.