Farmlands eyes 50 stores

The rural co-op will open its 47th store in Inglewood, Taranaki on January 30 when it takes over the former RD1 premises. The refurbished and refitted store will open under the Farmlands banner, with five fulltime staff.

Farmlands chief executive Peter Ellis says the new store supports its rapidly expanding presence in Taranaki.

"In addition to our existing stores in New Plymouth, Hawera, Stratford and Opunake, the new Inglewood store gives our Taranaki customers excellent regional coverage."

The new store will be managed by Rochelle Worthington, a local from Tarata, currently assistant manager of Farmlands Stratford branch.

"It's all about locals supporting locals, and our staff offers service and knowledge to meet the needs of this area - whether it is dairy, beef, sheep, horticulture, lifestyle or residential - and if we can't supply it ourselves, we can direct our customers to one of the 3500 places nationwide that accept the Farmlands card," she says.

Farmlands says the new store forms part of a long term strategic growth plan, further activated through the recent sale and leaseback of six stores around the North Island.

"Our growth strategy allows us to become a larger player; increasing our turnover, profits and shareholder numbers, and ultimately boosts our payouts to shareholders," says Ellis.

The co-op is seeing the benefit in this increased store coverage, with a 5% increase in shareholders in the past year, taking the current number to 27,000.

Ellis says during the last 12 months Farmlands has undergone a period of rapid growth with new stores opening in Putaruru, Opunake and Helensville and a new store in Huntly currently underway.

"This means there are only three more locations in the Farmlands 'pipeline' to complete the company's stated target of 50 stores by the end of 2012, thus delivering comprehensive geographic coverage to the North Island."

He says Farmlands continue to trade well and achieve growth, despite ongoing economic challenges around the globe. The rural co-op recently posted an annual turnover of $683 million, 22% up on the previous year. It also distributed over $44 million of trading and loyalty rebates amongst its members, an increase of 23% over the previous year.