Ski shops at odds

Waimarino Bulletin, Issue 7, 2 September 1988, Page 3

Ski shops at odds

The national ski retail chain, Ski Yer Heart Out are at the centre of a controversy over the setting up of a temporary ski retail shop in the Ohakune Shopping Centre.

Local ski shop owners claim the chain are using the store as a dumping ground, while Ski Yer Heart Out spokesman Nigel Taylor says the owners have made a number of attempts to stop the chain from opening their temporary store. He said the main attempt was in the form of a complaint to the. district council over town planning rules. Another attempt to keep Ski Yer Heart Out from Ohakune involved Ski Shop proprietors offering the landlords of the site double the rent, said Mr Taylor. A number of suppliers were approached by an Ohakune ski shop owner saying his stock would be returned if Ski Yer Heart Out were al-

lowed to operate their temporary business, he said. Mr Taylor said all the Ohakune ski shops , had made some attempt to keep Ski Yer Heart Out away from Ohakune. Junction Ski Shop Owner Mike Wiggins maintains the chain is here to "dump" their excess ski equipment, after poor saies in Auckland. He said he was one of the ski shop owners actively involved in trying to stop SYHO from opening their Ohakune Store. He said because he was a part owner in the Dalgety Building in Ohakune that he managed to stop them from renting that building as a ski store.

Mr Wiggins says SYHO are just "Bludgers off other Ohakune ski operators" and that they were here to "cream it off local operators". Mr Taylor said SYHO were not dumping, that the chain were enjoying the same profit margins that they have all year in Auckland. Ohakune SYHO manager Chester Becroft said: "All our stores are heavily stocked and we needed to move it and opening in Ohakune was just part of an overall strategy initiated some time ago." Mr Taylor said SYHO have plans to set up a permanent ski shop in Ohakune. Mr Wiggins said it would be easy for someone to say that they planned to establish a permanent ski shop, but that only time would tell if it actually happened. Mr Taylor maintains SYHO has been negotiating with three ski shops which were for sale, but that no purchase agreement was reached. He said if a purchase were successful the shop would have become a permanent SYHO outlet. He said SYHO were exploring other avenues to set up a per-

manent Ski Yer Heart Out outlet in Ohakune. He agreed that there was no guarantee that they would in fact set up a permanent shop but did stress that it was part of SYHO's plan. Ohakune SYHO manager Chester Becroft said: "Our free demonstration service on the mountain this year represents a $20,000 commitment to the area so it is necessary for us to tie up our city

stores, the demo service and a mountain shop." "As to the jumping up and down about us opening in Ohakune and not contributing to the community, Ski Yer Heart Out, via its stores, put a lot o f people onto Ruapehu and have always put large sums of money, time and effort back into skiing, which is generally sourced at the mountain," said Mr Becroft.