01 Sep Is this the closest fit-out to Antarctica?
The South Seas Hotel on Stewart Island is often touted as ‘the last pub before Antarctica’. Well, Datum can now claim ‘the fit-out/s closest to the icy continent’ with a run of shops in Invercargill’s newest shopping centre, Invercargill Central.
Datum’s had a growing slate of work in the South Island lately. As well as Invercargill, we’ve completed two retail spaces in Dunedin, several in Queenstown (including the Millbrook Resort Golf Shop) and a few in Christchurch – all within the last few months. Maybe it’s time for Datum to open a southern branch – hopefully near a ski field.
Managing and building fit-outs in the southernmost part of NZ is not easy when your manufacturing base is in the north. With Invercargill a minimum two-day trip, Datum’s Managing Director Seth Gleeson notes that “it’s easier to fly to Sydney and back in a day.” But Datum’s managed the completion of five great spaces in the town centre for Amazon, 2degrees, Glassons, Merchant Footwear and Coffee Club. It’s a fair assumption that Datum is now the best-represented fit-out contractor in the mall.
“We’ve been lucky enough to work with national and international retailers from chains all over the country, many of whom are repeat customers,” Seth says. Working with familiar brands means a continuation of design and theme throughout stores, although Seth admits that different spaces can mean a variation on what was done elsewhere. For example, Invercargill’s 2degrees fit-out was on a smaller scale than the flagship Newmarket fit-out, which necessitated a lot of value engineering – that is, value without sacrificing quality. The ‘southernmost’ crew loved the project. “It’s been great to contribute to these exciting changes for Invercargill, with a facility the council and residents can be proud of.”
Seth concedes that the further the fit-out is from home base, the harder it is.
“We thought we’d seen it all with the COVID restrictions (getting crews and materials in and out of Auckland) but now we’ve got different challenges, especially around logistics,” he says. Datum transports all its joinery to site in company-owned vehicles and trucks, which are a familiar sight plying their way up and down State Highway 1.
“Winter weather has been a bit of a nightmare,” Seth grimaces. “We’ve been booking ferries up to three weeks in advance, and even then, that’s not always a guarantee of a crossing. But we know that if we deliver to site ourselves, we’ll generally get goods there in three to four days, rather than relying on containers that might take weeks. Plus, we will deliver, unpack and install everything in perfect condition. It also gives us – and our clients – the confidence that we can have teams on site ready to go, keeping our projects on time.”
With different project managers managing the individual fit-outs across several live sites in the south, the workload is spread out. However, Datum has a single logistics manager coordinating the movement of teams, supplies, deliveries and materials. There are a lot of balls to keep in the air, but robust systems, professionalism and team expertise have proven we can get a fit-out over the line, on time, anywhere in the country.
But there is a ‘special sauce’ that Seth refers to time and time again – Datum’s people. He singles out the fit-out teams who work out of Auckland, often away from their families for weeks at a stretch. “While it was once highly unusual for our teams to be away from home a lot, now it’s becoming more frequent. So, a huge thank you to our site crew for those longer stints, and the amazing work they continue to deliver.”
If you’re in the deep south, up Cape Reinga way, or anywhere in between and contemplating something tailor-made for your space or business, talk to the expert – and well-travelled – Datum team today.