Freedom Furniture committed to Newmarket with million dollar investment

Leading furniture and homewares retailer Freedom has undertaken a massive renovation and upgrade of its 23-year-old anchor store in Auckland’s home styling precinct on Broadway, Newmarket.

 

Set to welcome shoppers from December, the $1 million-plus investment will see the store fully revamped with an additional 600 square metres of floor space. This refreshed concept store will incorporate a new shopper experience with a home layout, open plan kitchen and design studio with a focus on the brand’s wide range of furniture customisation that will be rolled out in Australasia.

 

Retail NZ’s recent report predicts larger stores over the next decade focusing more on helping customers experience the theatre of retail. It states New Zealand’s retail industry is now worth $92.3 billion a year and is outperforming the Australian market.

 

“We’re earmarking Newmarket as a boom area. Come 2020, it will be New Zealand’s shopping mecca,” says Ridling.

 

Owned by Greenlit Brands the investment in the Newmarket store underpins Freedom’s commitment to bricks and mortar retail, alongside growth in ecommerce.

 

“While digital continues to grow exponentially furniture and homewares is still a very tactile shopping experience for our customers. We know that people are looking for an experience, not just a product. 

 

Furniture and homewares is something people will always want to touch and try, so we’re getting a jump on these predictions with a destination store that promises to delight,” says Managing Director of New Zealand, Deb Ridling.

 

The renovated store, using a combination of international trends, will sport a modern monochromatic feel with big windows and lots of natural light. The store has all the latest styles, for all the rooms, all in the one place and at affordable prices – so when customers come in store they will be surrounded by the largest collection of new and exciting product that freedom has curated in years.

 

Freedom’s revamp coincides with the announcement of a massive $790m redevelopment of 277 Westfield Newmarket.

 

“We’re making a commitment to the shopper of tomorrow and the promise of the area becoming a retail hub. With Westfield at the southern end and Freedom at the top, we’re expecting the strip to be buzzing with foot traffic,” says Ridling.

 

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas is pleased with progress at what he calls the bookends of Broadway.

 

“Broadway has always been a homewares destination and Freedom is definitely a part of the Newmarket furniture. Their decision to invest in the precinct is another endorsement that Newmarket is on the cusp of meteoric retail growth. According to Paymark data, the precinct trades around $600 million a year, and we anticipate this will exceed $1billion from 2020.”

 

ENDS

 

For media information, images, interviews, contact:

Victoria Cooper-Smith | Undertow Media                             

Mob: +64 21 110 3160                                                                

Email: victoriacs@undertowmedia.com