Emergency gear big seller in reopened Kathmandu store

The Riccarton Rd Kathmandu store may not reopen due to damage that the building sustained after the February 22 earthquake. Photo / Greg Bowker

Outdoor gear company Kathmandu has been selling more emergency-related items such as torches, portable showers and sleeping bags from its Tower Junction store, which reopened on Friday in Christchurch.

The company's other two stores in Cashel St and Riccarton Rd will remain closed until further notice because of damage.

Kathmandu's head office and New Zealand distribution centre are in Heathcote, at the base of the Port Hills, close to the earthquake's epicentre. Those buildings are still operational.

The Cashel St store is not expected to reopen for several months, according to Kathmandu chief executive Peter Halkett.

"We have been unable to have our Cashel St and Riccarton stores inspected so far, so we can't comment on the degree of damage they have sustained."

Halkett said that despite delivery delays the other 97 stores across New Zealand and Australia would not be affected by the quake.

Kathmandu's business development manager, Paul Stern, said no customers or staff were injured during last week's quake.

He said staff at Cashel St were stocktaking when the quake hit, which probably limited potential injuries as most workers were in the storage room.

Arrangements had been made for staff from the closed stores. Some had been deployed to other stores and to the company's Melbourne office, but Stern said it would not be appropriate to comment on individual situations.

A statement released on Monday said that all racking in the warehouse remained intact and the company expected to be able to conductnormal restocking across its New Zealand network by the end of the week.

Kathmandu has insurance cover for such an event that includes loss of profit from the impact on overall trade, increased cost of working and claims recovery.

The company will released its half-year result to January 31 on March 17.