More than 30,000 people came from throughout Southland to grab themselves a bargain at this year's Rice's Powerstore Expo in Invercargill.

Powerstore general manager Craig Balfour said the amount of cash spent at the three-day, 30th birthday expo was on a par with last year.

For security reasons, he could not say how much had been spent.

The successful weekend did not mean Southlanders were big spenders in general, Mr Balfour said.

He believed people had saved during the year and put money aside to grab a great deal at the expo.

This was the second year that the expo offered half-price deals, which he believed attracted the big crowds.

Televisions had remained the No 1 seller because each year the prices got lower.

"In 1998 we sold a 42-inch TV for $25,000, and now we sell a 51-inch TV for $599, which was the biggest selling item during the expo."

Whiteware was the second biggest seller, with more being sold than any other year, followed by computers and cellphones.

About 20 of Powerstore's most successful sales staff from Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Nelson, Timaru and Gore had been on a waiting list to attend the expo in Invercargill, which had a great reputation within the company, Mr Balfour said.

Staff enjoyed the expo because Southland people were always friendly. He joked that Powerstore staff, and staff from the 40 suppliers, made the most of Invercargill's bars.

"We put a lot of money back into Invercargill."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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