\u201cWhat\u2019s really exciting about the Mitre 10 role for me is that it\u2019s another co-operative in New Zealand, and the two major co-operatives in New Zealand compete against great competition,\u201d Rowles said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s another opportunity to have a go at doing that. The fundamentals are the same: pricing and value for customers, great ranges and operator engagement in their stores. It was a great opportunity to come and do what I love, which is retailing and in the co-operative space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rowles said he was focused on getting the fundamentals right with everything from the carpark to wayfinding, to pricing, to stock on shelf and the speed through the checkout contributing to a consistent experience and adding to the value equation.<\/p>\n
Rowles lives in a city apartment, so opportunities for DIY are limited, but he said he enjoys creating living, green spaces and bringing nature in through container gardening on his balcony.<\/p>\n
Lindsay Rowles has more than two decades of experience in retail operations. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
Outside work, Rowles said he enjoys travelling and food, \u201cespecially spicy food\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cMost summers I buy cookbooks and learn a new cuisine. This year it was Italian. In years past, I\u2019ve learned to cook French, Cantonese and Sichuan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran war impact<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a challenging time to be in retail with the Iran war impacting fuel costs, which is making it more expensive to ship products to New Zealand and transport them around the country.<\/p>\n
Rowles said the business was already seeing the impacts on global supply chains.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team are doing a lot of work around assuring supply across our group,\u201d Rowles said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second is getting the product at the best price. Having the customer\u2019s trust and only passing through the costs you need to. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen, when those costs pull back, actively taking them out of the business as fast as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitre 10, like many in the sector, has already had to pass on a small number of targeted price increases where they are directly linked to fuel or raw material costs.<\/p>\n
Some of these include concrete deliveries to sites, and plastic plumbing products, with Rowles confirming some plastics prices had increased by 20% overseas.<\/p>\n
Since taking the helm at Mitre 10, Rowles has been travelling around the country speaking to owners and staff from across the co-op. He has visited 20 stores so far.<\/p>\n
He said he had taken the time to look and listen proactively, noting how the owners he had met were \u201creally engaged in their communities\u201d.<\/p>\n
Foodstuffs and Mitre 10 are two of the largest co-operative businesses in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Mitre 10 has a network<\/a> of 69 entities that own shares, each of them owning one or several of Mitre 10\u2019s 80 stores and collectively employing more than 7000 staff.<\/p>\n However, unlike Foodstuffs, not a lot is publicly known about how much the company makes, with each store\u2019s earnings kept private.<\/p>\n The co-op\u2019s store support office reported total revenue of $300.3 million and a net loss of $27m in its last financial result<\/a>, but the figures represent a fraction of the company\u2019s total earnings.<\/p>\n First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said the question of how large Mitre 10\u2019s entire business was had a few different angles.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018retail\u2019 part of Mitre 10 Mega is just one element in each of the store\u2019s businesses. Trade is a very substantial element and because of the owner-operator model \u2013 each business has strong local ties \u2013 many stores \u2018own\u2019 that market, driving revenues well beyond what goes through the checkouts,\u201d Wilkinson said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll see that reflected in the number of operators that have off-site distribution and logistics centres, where bulk products and materials can be supplied from.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilkinson said while competitor Bunnings also had a large trade business, Mitre 10\u2019s entrepreneurial operator cohort had additional reason and ability to be competitive, helping to maximise market share.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say they are the dominant players in the category, but by how much is difficult to determine because of these factors.\u201d<\/p>\n RX Group founder and managing director Juanita Neville-Te Rito estimated a market split across the home improvement category could look something like 55-60% Bunnings, 35-40% Mitre 10, with Placemakers, Carters, ITM and independents making up the balance.<\/p>\n But Neville-Te Rito said a clean number was \u201cgenuinely impossible\u201d to pin down publicly.<\/p>\n \u201cTo get a sense of real network scale: back in 2020, the co-op reported goods supplied to stores of around $818m \u2013 and that\u2019s a wholesale\/supply figure, so retail turnover across the network would be higher again,\u201d Neville-Te Rito said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith store growth since then and a few years of trading, a rough estimate for total network retail sales today would be somewhere in the $1.5 billion to $2b range. I\u2019d frame that as informed context rather than a citable figure.\u201d<\/p>\n When considering Bunnings NZ filed audited accounts showing revenue of $1.76b for the year to June 2024, the competition is closer than ever.<\/p>\n Rowles said the published reports don\u2019t give the full picture, as they do with corporate entities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very clear message is our owner-operators run strong, financially sound businesses. The co-operative\u2019s well backed by that and is in good shape to keep doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n While Rowles\u2019 next few months will involve visiting the remaining stores in the company\u2019s network, Mitre 10 is already at work on its next strategy plan.<\/p>\nMitre 10’s total financial performance is private, but chief executive Lindsay Rowles says the company has done well to hold market share. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n