Gift Spring Gift Fair magazine, September 2013 | Page 21

forget who you are or what your purpose is.”

Photography
compliments of
Kirkaldies (www.
kirkcaldies.co.nz),
WellingtonNZ.
com and Gary
Bowering (Private
contributor)

Wellington’s
future is
bright

network – ferries, buses, trains. Wellington has great shopping
precincts with individual boutiques which makes for a unique
shopping experience in these days of the large format mall.
Te Papa is a museum like no other and is a great place to
spend the day for a unique look at New Zealand’s culture
and heritage.
“As for our notorious wind – that just makes things even more
interesting, and it is said you can’t beat Wellington on a good
day. The outlying areas of Wellington offer great day trips for
tramping, vineyard tours even a trip across the Cook Straight
on the ferry.”
When it comes to what makes Kirkcaldie & Stains, ‘Kirks’ to
the locals, a popular stop on most shopping expeditions,
Tamanda says each of the buyers specializes, allowing a top
selection of top products. “They research their product and
trends and make sure that they are also in tune with what
our customer is asking for. Buyers also work as a team so that
merchandise across the store flows. Some product is sourced
overseas, but a good majority of what we buy is bought at
the Auckland Gift Fairs.
“Like Kirkcaldie & Stains, many Kiwi retailers are great
at putting individualised selections of product together.
What we do so well in-store is customer service, and that’s
something other retailers need to work on. As a nation, we
are far behind similar countries to ours. With such a small
population, for success in a business, customer service is
critical. It’s important to change with the times but don’t

At the other end of the retail scale from a 150-year-old
department store is a quirky and fun 40-year-old business
selling weather instruments, science toys, plus other
curiosities: The Met Shop is a destination in itself. “People
come to Wellington for all sorts of events through the year
– sports matches, arts and fashion festivals, conferences –
and the shopping is often a happy bonus, for them and
for us,” says Terry McDavitt. “We get an amazing range of
people here, from all over New Zealand and all over the
world. It’s good to see people enjoying themselves.
“As an independent store we do all our own buying. We
have a range of trusted suppliers and their reps are very
important to us, many of them good friends as well after
all these years. For us the key has always been the ‘good
eye’ of Sue, our part-owner, long-term manager, and chief
buyer. She has a good eye for both what will sell, what
will fit, and what will look good on display. We use the Gift
Fairs as an essential element of the mix, to check what’s
new or coming up, what else is available, and what the
trends are.
“Being a small independent we naturally tend to the
‘treasure trove’ end. Frankly it’s fairly crowded with product
in store. And, as we’re slightly off the beaten track we
have to attract customers the last few yards – hence the
vibrant colour – and our moa outside. The moa has been
a real boon to us and now it’s such a fixture I doubt that
we would be allowed to alter it. She’s fun, and she sums up
the character of the shop. Actually, we are a collection of
niches – science stuff, weather instruments, soft toys, quirky
novelt