Gull’s capital game-changer
Cut-price fuel retailer Gull wants to set up shop in Wellington within a year, triggering a potential game-changer for capital motorists.
While motorists in Levin and Masterton have benefited from the so-called ‘Gull Effect’ for some time, Wellingtonians have been forced to swallow eyewatering fuel prices because of the discount chain’s absence.
Motorists in and around the capital now pay about $2.40 to $2.45 per litre of 91 octane petrol.
Gull revealed it was ‘‘close to agreements to lease or purchase on several pieces of land in greater Wellington’’, but general manager Dave Bodger wouldn’t pinpoint exact locations of the self-service stations.
‘‘I’m feeling relatively confident we’ll get something over the next 12 to 18 months . . . optimistically, I hope we have a site operating in Wellington inside the next 12 months.’’
Distance and high real estate costs had previously prevented Gull from breaking into the Wellington market, Bodger said.
‘‘It’s a long way away from our terminal in Mt Maunganui, so that makes it more expensive for us to get the fuel south.
‘‘Our real estate costs in Levin and Masterton . . . are significantly lower than [what] the average landlord would expect to receive in the greater Wellington area. That has been the difficult nut to crack until recently,’’ he added.
AA Petrolwatch spokesman Mark Stockdale said Gull’s presence would provide greater competition and better fuel price offerings for motorists.
However, he warned that the Gull Effect would be restricted to the suburbs where the new stations were operating – simply put, its presence would not lead to across-theboard price drops across the entire region.
‘‘They will set a lower market price and the other brands in that neighbourhood will be forced to match the prices in that suburb. Motorists will only travel so far to get a lower price of fuel,’’ Stockdale said.
Gull’s decision to dip its toes in the Wellington market was timely, with economist Shamubeel Eaqub’s prediction this week that pump prices could rise by as much as 15 per
cent by early next year.
Eaqub said Gull’s presence in the capital would ‘‘add competition and bring prices down’’ in the locations they were based in.
Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods, who publicly questioned the pricing tactics used by the main fuel market players operating in Wellington and the South Island in May, has welcomed Gull’s move.
She referred to a recent Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) report, which uncovered evidence suggesting motorists in those areas appeared to be ‘‘paying over the odds for fuel’’.
‘‘Not all fuel companies cooperated with that study and some refused to hand over data. The Government is progressing a bill through the house to empower the Commerce Commission to conduct market studies and to compel the release of the evidence.’’
While Gull embraced running unmanned stations – operating 37 nationwide – there seemed to be little appetite from the big players to follow suit.
Sheena Thomas, a spokeswoman for Z Energy, the country’s largest fuel company, said it had ‘‘deliberately positioned’’ itself as a full service station chain.
‘‘Ultimately, we believe it’s all about choice. Some customers only want the cheapest prices and are happy to get this at unmanned stations. Others want service . . . all while still getting a price that is competitive.’’
BP’s Porirua site is the only unmanned site it operates nationwide but it has no plans to develop any more ‘‘in the forseeable future’’, a spokeswoman said.