Framing our future
Business fortunes ringing up a regional recovery
From near-capacity campgrounds to a rush in home improvement services, Nelson’s businesses appear to be bucking the winter trend, with some reporting Christmas-like levels of sales.
Data contained in The Covid-19 Consumer Spend dashboard developed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed the effect of Covid-19 on consumer spending over time.
On April 19, the Nelson region’s weekly consumer spend was down 62.8 per cent compared to last year. Since May 24, the figure has returned to the black and for the week ending June 21, Tasman’s domestic spend was up 9.9 per cent.
While Framing Rooms owners Gill Starling and James Taylor had been back at their Wakatu Lane premises since level 3, the return to level 1 life has so far brought about a busy period that has surpassed Christmas-level sales.
‘‘It got very busy, very quickly – during one week we were busier than we’ve ever been.’’
Starling said she believed the drop in overseas travel had prompted more people to channel their money to new or mothballed projects closer to home.
‘‘People are now more focused on their homes – they have maybe pulled out things that they’ve been meaning to frame for a long time but haven’t got round to – photos of trips or holidays, embroidery that’s been in the family for a long time or artworks bought online.’’
The Quiet Dog Gallery, in the same building, had also experienced an upturn in customers, due in part to its recent exhibition of original artworks under $500.
The demand for home improvement services such as flooring, kitchen and spas has also seen customers reporting seven-week waiting times for installations, while businesses are seeing a 50 per cent rise against the corresponding time last year.
One flooring client who approached Stuff was told lockdown renovations and diversion of funds from scrapped overseas trips had contributed to the waiting times.
In Golden Bay, Pakawau Beach Camp manager Gary Riordan was also enjoying an unusually busy time as Kiwis sought to quell cabin fever from the last few months.
‘‘She bounced back very quickly – a lot of people were just dying to get out after lockdown. It’s not quite full at the moment, but there’s plenty going on – when we opened after level two it was not off far full for nearly two weeks.
Most of Riordan’s guests were Kiwis, he said, with the camp’s New Zealand Motor Caravan Association affiliation making it a popular stop for camper vans.
Riordan had 10 families on-site during lockdown, placed strategically throughout the camp to meet distancing requirements. Some had stayed on to continue enjoying the Golden Bay surrounds.
State Cinema Nelson director Mark Christensen said the theatre had seen a gradual return of patrons, including the older demographic putting their Covid-19 fears behind them. ‘‘We’re not too far off from what I’d call ‘normal quiet levels of trading’, which is great given that we’ve got no new Hollywood movies at the moment.’’
The cinema had been able to offer some new releases under the arthouse and boutique cinema umbrella, while retro screenings of the original 1984 version of Ghostbusters and New Zealand animated feature Footrot Flats was also expected to be popular during the school holidays.
However, in the coming weeks, Niki Caro’s Mulan and Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated spy thriller Tenet were due to open.
‘‘Nelson is quite lucky that we’ve always had a strong market for arthouse-type films – we’ve just got more than usual because the arthouse and independent distributors have stepped up and filled the gap the big studios have left.’’
Colliers International commercial leasing and sales broker Debbie Cade said despite the closures of some businesses such as Starbucks, interest in filling the vacant sites had offered some positive signs for Nelson CBD’s postCovid future.
‘‘There hasn’t been that calamity that they’d have you believe – you don’t know what’s around the corner but the beauty is it’s allowing businesses to realise some of their plans.
‘‘The feeling I’ve got out there is it’s all go and people are getting on with life ... the dervishes are still whirling.’’
‘‘A lot of people were just dying to get out after lockdown.’’
Gary Riordan
Manager of Pakawau Beach Camp