Break-in forces jeweller to close
Having his store window smashed by someone trying to take off with $11,000 worth of jewellery was the catalyst for Peter Merson to close up shop.
The third-generation owner of Butchers Showcase Jewellers in New Plymouth has been at the helm for 45 of the 90 years the business has been operating.
But when making a list of positives and negatives to stay open, the positives column was empty.
‘‘We’ve had burglaries before over the years, but not the damage that this guy did,’’ Merson said.
‘‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while because I’m getting older, and I’ve done nothing, because I’ve been landlocked here.’’
Just after 2am on Friday, August 8, 25-year-old Kara Neihana Pompey smashed his way into the Devon St East store through the front window.
Pompey smashed numerous jewellery display cabinets inside the shop, and took more than $11,000 worth of rings and necklaces.
When police arrived, he tried to escape through the back of the store but couldn’t, and was apprehended.
Pompey has since admitted two burglary charges.
All of Merson’s stock was recovered, but the cleanup took several days and cost him more than $3000.
‘‘These guys are getting nothing – there’s no benefit,’’ he said of the thieves.
‘‘In Auckland, they come in the middle of the day with hammers, smashing all the cabinets, grabbing and running, and I don’t want that here. I don’t I want my staff to have to put up with it.’’
‘‘I don’t I want my staff to have to put up with it.’’ Peter Merson
Butchers was started by Doug Butcher in the 1930s, and was later taken over by Merson’s father. At one point, the business had stores in New Plymouth, Stratford, Hāwera and Waitara.
The business took its toll on Merson’s family, with his grandfather dying at 60 and his father at 57. ‘‘I’ve outdated my grandfather and my father,’’ the 62-year-old said.
The shop will close once all the stock is sold. Merson already has three trips planned for his next chapter in life, including one to India.
The fact he is closing down a 90-year-old family business plays on his mind, but then he remembers what his mother told him before she died just before lockdown in 2020.
‘‘She told me to get out.’’