More in store for Alexandra

Alexandra tradies are already benefiting from the town’s new-look PlaceMakers store, which features a timber yard big enough to contain its predecessor!

Fletcher Merchants first began supplying building materials into the Central Otago town in 1973, with the store rebranded in PlaceMakers colours in 1988. Joint Venture Owner Brent Stanley says little had changed since then.

“We were still based out of that original building and it just wasn’t fit for purpose anymore. It was a very tight space, with a single lane drive-thru that our trade customers had to share with our delivery trucks,” he says. “We’d just well and truly outgrown it. Now we’ve taken our game to the next level.”

The new store, which opened on 30 May, is located a few kilometres down the road in a new retail development and includes a dedicated entrance for delivery vehicles to keep customer traffic separate.

The new store also features a 30 space car park – a significant upgrade from the on-street parking available at the previous location.

“Everything flows a lot more smoothly now and the feedback has just been fantastic. Foot traffic is increasing in response to the changes and all of our customers have been giving us the proverbial pat on the back,” says Brent.

One-stop shop

The showroom’s footprint has increased more than six-fold to 800m², with a co-located Mico site helping to transform PlaceMakers Alexandra into a one-stop shop for builders, electricians and plumbers.

“We’ve been able to substantially increase the depth of our product range. We’ve adopted PlaceMakers Core Plus range in a number of categories, such as power tools, power tool accessories and fastenings to better support our core trade customers. Now we have everything we need to really look after all our tradies.”

The new showroom also includes three kitchen and four bathroom displays, pizza ovens, gas and log burners and a tap wall – with knowledgeable consultants on hand to help customers decide how to best finish their homes.

With the increased floor space, Brent says another major change is that they’ve brought the office team downstairs closer to customers and the trade and retail counter.

“Our old store was two storeys and our trade support team was based upstairs, so they weren’t readily accessible. Now we are all downstairs and are handy to the drive-thru counter and retail shop, so our customers can grab us anytime, which is great from a customer point of view.”

A cafe is another welcome addition, with “hearty, tasty fast food and good, good coffee” on offer for tradies looking for a meal on the move.

To celebrate, Brent says the store hosted a complimentary trade breakfast on opening day along with a gala event that featured 150 guests, including the team, valued customers, local dignitaries and PlaceMakers executives.

Some things never change…

Despite everything being brand new, Brent says one thing customers are pleased hasn’t changed is the weekly Friday morning BBQs he and his team put on.

“We do those every week without fail and normally get around 40-plus builders through, and we’re not planning on changing thatany time soon,” he says. “We are very proud to have brought this project to Alexandra and it was only possible with support of our customers and the Alexandra community – thanks all!