Paper Plus fast-tracks six new stores

Paper Plus Group is planning to open six new stores in the South Island as part of a $22 million investment programme.

The book and stationery chain has 106 stores, including 32 in the South Island, and wants to grow to between 120 and 130 stores by December 2011.

Chairman Mike Paardekooper said six sites have been identified for stores in the South Island, after the company investigated area demographics to gauge demand.

He would not reveal where the new sites were, but did say a new Paper Plus store was due to open in Mosgiel before Christmas.

Mr Paardekooper said although the biggest opportunities were in the cities, Paper Plus was also looking at increasing its presence in towns with catchments of as little as 3500.

The company already had a strong footprint with its Paper Plus stores and its Take Note brand, which has 58 stores including 19 in the South Island.

Paper Plus was also refitting its entire network of stores as part of the investment programme. Since August it has refitted and re-opened two stores each week, including in Nelson, Oamaru and Christchurch where a Take Note store at Northlands Mall has reopened as a Paper Plus.

It was now aiming to refit 50 stores a year to ensure it reached its 2011 deadline.

Paper Plus Group is an owner- operator co-operative. The group's annual turnover had grown in the past year and was now almost $200m. The cost of the new stores would be covered by new owners who wanted to run a Paper Plus franchise.

It cost about $450,000 to open and own a new Paper Plus store, depending on its size.

Paper Plus chief executive Rob Smith said that after extensive research and customer feedback, it had decided to fast-track the development to secure its position in the marketplace.

- © Fairfax NZ News