Two outstanding business people were inducted into the Manukau Business Hall of Fame at the 2009 Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards Gala Dinner on 18 September.
In 1953 Noel Holyoake established N.V. Holyoake & Co. Limited, the forerunner of what was later to become Holyoake Industries Limited. The company specialised in the installation and servicing of industrial oil-fired heating systems, and ten years later commenced the manufacturing and marketing of oil-fired heating equipment.
Since then, the company has diversified into forestry, farming, motor vehicle servicing and franchising, marine engine distribution and property investment. Holyoake Industries’ head office and main manufacturing facility is now in East Tamaki, with additional facilities in Wellington, Christchurch, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Holyoake Industries is very much a family-orientated business, with Noel’s sons, Grant and Scott, on board as Executive Directors.
Eric Kendall’s business, Temperzone Air Conditioning, is also an industry innovator. Founding his company in 1956, Eric Kendall initially qualified as a plumber and later studied Refrigeration Engineering. Even in those early days he could see the future opportunity for air conditioning and heat pumps.
Manukau City Council Young Business Person of the Year is Daniel Robertson, who started online bookstore Fishpond in his bedroom in 2004.
The company now claims to be Australasia’s biggest online bookstore with more than 2 million books, 188,000 CDs and 12,000 DVDs are on its virtual book shelves. The technologically-savvy company employs 30 people at its Airport Oaks location.
Two outstanding business people were inducted into the Manukau Business Hall of Fame, which recognises the loyalty and commitment of those who have made a difference to the Manukau region over the years.
Fishpond was started by Daniel Robertson at his home in 2004. After quickly outgrowing the Robertson household, the company moved to a warehouse strategically located in Airport Oaks. Many books are imported, and the airport location reduces shipping times to customers.
Customers can now listen to music track samples or watch movie trailers before making a purchase. And repeat customers are offered recommendations on other products which they may be interested in. This is possible via sophisticated algorithms which are based on past orders and viewing history. “Australians and New Zealanders were missing out on the convenience, selection and prices of online shops found overseas,” Daniel Robertson said.
Traffic at Fishpond.co.nz was up 72% for August compared to the same month last year when the first signs of recession started to hit the New Zealand economy. “Due to the recession, everyone is being a bit careful about where to spend money. People are getting smarter about their choices and spending,” General Manager of Fishpond, Ben Powles told Business to Business.
“Like all businesses, we were also concerned about our business due to the recession. But we realised once people have tried shopping online, they find it really works well. The growth is primarily from new customers, which shows more and more people understand the benefits of buying online.”
Fishpond is also seeing ongoing growth across the Tasman as more and more consumers turn to online shopping to save money.
