Bright new look for Gull

Gull has announced a new partnership with Kiwi convenience store chain Night ‘n Day, a South Island company that has taken over the operation of Gull’s 21 largest service stations.

The final store, at Kingsland station in Auckland, opened on 11 May with a new, streamlined look and completely new stock.

Gull General Manager Dave Bodger says customers will notice the excellent service provided by Night ‘n Day’s directors Denise and Andrew Lane, along with their hand-picked managers and franchise owners.

While the stores have a consistent look and feel, managers have the flexibility to service their local community.

“Like Gull, Night ‘n Day provides choice to its customers. We pride ourselves on our extensive range of products including grocery, health and beauty and hardware items to name a few. We are unique in that we have in-store ice-cream parlours, delicatessens, hot and cold café items that are made daily and fried foods. We have a wide selection to cater for everyone while still carrying traditional service station items such as drinks, confectionery, pies, magazines and automotive products,” said Mr Lane.

Mr Bodger approached Night ‘n Day to replace Woolworths stores on Gull sites after hearing Andrew Lane speak at a conference.

“I was very impressed by what I heard. Like Gull, Night ‘n Day is a family-owned company that has the freedom to manage its stores in a way that suits local motorists and shoppers,” said Bodger.

“Andrew and Denise personally manage every aspect of setting up a new store so I knew they would do a good job.”

The Dunedin -based couple grew their network of franchises from one store 20 years ago to 28 stores in the South Island before this year. The partnership with Gull enabled them to launch a major expansion into the North Island, taking Night ‘n Day to a total of 49 stores in just a few months.

Mr Lane says learning the ropes of fuel retailing was a challenge. “We have had to up-skill ourselves, our franchisees and their employees on all aspects of environment, health and safety standards relating to the fuel industry to ensure the people that provide our service are fully competent, trained, meet certifying standards and provide a superior service”.