Mr Rental Now Operating From Don St Premises In City Centre
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A commitment to Invercargill’s city centre was high on the priority list for finding a suitable location for Mr Rental.
After more than 15 years at its former Yarrow St location, Mr Rental recently moved to bigger, brighter and better premises at 10 Don St – the former Storage Box shop in Invercargill.
Mr Rental Invercargill franchise owner and manager John Beckley said staying in the city centre was top on the priority list of finding a new location.
“The bottom line was I really wanted to stay in the centre of town and it is really motivating with the likes of the Richardson Group [HWR] initiating and investing in the centre – along with the commitment of the ILT [Invercargill Licensing Trust] building a new hotel,” Mr Beckley said.
“If it’s good enough for them [HWR and ILT] – it’s good enough for us, and we all have to keep the momentum going,” he said.
The Don St building has had a spruce up on the outside, including a lick of paint and new Mr Rental signage has gone up; inside there is now a purpose-built reception area.
The building also offers Mr Rental on-site storage facilities, with “out the back and off the road” access, whereas the previous location meant the franchise was leasing another building for storage, and deliveries and pick-ups were being handled at the front of the former store.
Mr Beckley said the Don St location also offered customers better parking options, and hoped the street would be converted back to two-way traffic, which would be a better fit for retail shops in the city centre.
“A few older people have called in since we moved into this [Don St] building and a number them can remember back in the 1970’s when the building was the BNZ Bank, and they have said it’s good to see it being used again after being empty for so long,” he said.
The store specialises in the renting of white-ware, household furniture, electronics and fitness machines, to individuals and families, as well as to house-staging businesses for show homes, rental properties or homes for sale.
“The movie business is another aspect of our business that has increased. There have been a number of movies being filmed in and around Southland that we have rented to for movie sets, and behind the scenes, the costumes need washed and dried between takes, so we rent washing machines and dryers to them too. We value that extra business,” he said.
“The fitness machines offer a great way for customers to try something new and increase their fitness. And once fitness levels increase customers can move onto a bigger rower or cross trainer.”
Mr Rental Invercargill services a large area, covering all of Invercargill and surrounding Southland areas, as well as Central Otago right up to Wanaka, and Te Anau and across to Balclutha.
The company offers free delivery to the area it covered and welcomed the public to call into their new Don St premises to make an inquiry; or phone the 0800 111 313 or visit the website www.mrrental.co.nz for more information.