Shop deal music to manager's ears

DAVID ALEXANDER/The Press

Feelin' groovy again: Paul Huggins, left, and wife Alison Knight are the new owners of Real Groovy in Christchurch.

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The Christchurch Real Groovy music store is back in business today after its local manager bought it from receivers.

Paul Huggins, who has managed the store since 2006, and his co-owner, wife Alison Knight, signed a deal yesterday after what he described as a few stressful weeks.

"The first thing I'm going to do is order in some stock," he said. "Get the place restocked and charge on. I'm excited we're still going to be here and now we're locally owned, I think it's a big plus for the community."

Huggins said he made the purchase to secure both his family's future and the future of his loyal staff, who were a "fantastic team".

He had no plans to radically change the store.

"Real Groovy is a great brand. I'm really looking forward to making decisions that work for Christchurch rather than just carrying out decisions made in Auckland that might not work so well here."

Vouchers and credit notes can now be redeemed again and the store will sell event tickets.

"We're back in business," Huggins said.

"I'd like to thank our customers for their goodwill and support during recent weeks."

Real Groovy Records went into receivership this month, with Auckland receivers, John Cregten, and Andrew Mckay, of Corporate Finance Ltd, taking control of the Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch shops.

The Wellington store was bought last week by long-time manager Mark Thomas.