Public pat on the back appreciated by owners
The winner of Waipukurau’s Best Retail Shop for February 2024 — Valentine’s month, with the CHB Business Association — is Amarvia Blue.
Second place went to Tenku, third to De’s Cavern and fourth to Pure Sports.
The customer prize winner was Anna Douglas, who received a $100 Latitude voucher, movie tickets, a voucher from Pure Sport and a bottle of wine.
Amarvia Blue owners Debbie and Phil Harris originally came to Waipukurau for Phil’s hospital job transfer, intending to stay a few years and then move on.
They’re still here 37 years later. Debbie says: “Central Hawke’s Bay is just such a fabulous area we couldn’t leave.
“In 2004 we purchased Quayles Menswear and Les Frills Lingerie from Ian and Mary Quayle, and we kept adding more stock lines until we eventually outgrew the building.
“Amarvia Blue came into existence in 2010 with the move into the old Mitre 10 building where we are now.
“Why are we called Amarvia Blue, you ask?
“We have such a variety of stock that ‘menswear’, ‘surfwear’ or ‘lingerie’ just didn’t cover it, so we had to come up with something a little different.
“Our name comes from our children’s names, Amanda, Richard and Olivia. You may have heard our radio tagline — Amarvia Blue, your mini department store. It could
almost be ‘Everything but the kitchen sink’.
“We stock a wide range of goodquality clothing for the whole family.”
RM Williams is a speciality for the rural community and the store stocks a wide range of men’s shirts, fleece tops and a few boots. A rite of passage is to get an RM Williams belt or wallet for your 21st.
Traditional brands Aertex and Swanndri are also stocked for both men and women. Debbie says: “We can fit out your mini-me with a coordinating outfit, even down to the hugely popular Grosby kids pull-on boots — just like dad’s work boots.”
Women are well catered for with a good range of comfortable shoes
and sandals including Skechers, Cabello and the new Archies range for ultimate arch support.
If you are not familiar with the store, don’t forget to check down the back — it’s a whole new world.
While not stocking the sporting gear side of its surfwear brands, Amarvia Blue has boardies, T-shirts, hoodies and what Debbie says seems like “about a million jandals” to choose from.
She adds: “A big thank you to all our lovely customers who voted for us. Some days it is hard to judge how we are doing so we really do appreciate the pat on the back. We love what we do in helping you to find your perfect purchase.”