Ann-Marie Johnson: Retail NZ Communications Manager on the drop in the number of dairies

The iconic Kiwi corner dairy is believed to be becoming a rarer sight. 

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment notes there are more than 1,700 businesses currently registered as dairies or superettes, less than Retail NZ's 2018 count of around 4,000.

Communications Manager Ann-Marie Johnson told Ryan Bridge a number of dairies have closed, but people's shopping habits have changed. 

She says they've been great for popping in to buy bits and pieces, but people pay for the convenience. 

Johnson says retail’s been doing it tough, and if people want to keep the dairies open, they need to support them.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Retail advocates say the number of dairies in the country
is on the downward trend as supermarkets continue to monopolize
and retail crime continues. The Ministry for Business, Innovation and
Employment says there are currently just seventeen hundred registered companies
classified as a dairy or a supret and that compares
to back in twenty eighteen, Retail New Zealand recording about

(00:22):
four thousand deiries and convenience stores around the country. Amory
Johnson is with retailing issues with US Live this morning. Amory,
good morning, We're in it. Great to have you on
the show. First of all, are these numbers actually reliable?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, it's the piece of research that Retailing Z is
about to carry out and update our twenty eighteen figures.
But certainly on the face of it, it seems pretty likely.
We know that retail has been doing it tough, no
matter what sector you're in, and so certainly, just looking
around the streets, I reckon that, Yeah, we certainly know

(01:01):
that a number of dairies have closed.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah, And the other thing I was thinking about, supermarkets
are cheaper, generally speaking, are cheaper than dairies, and in
the cost of living crisis, people are going for the
cheaper option.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Oh absolutely, and they always have been. You know, fairies
have been great for just being able to pop in
and buy those extra a few bits and pieces, but
you do pay for the convenience.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Does it matter if daiies close? I mean, obviously it's
not great for someone like me who loves going there
for that reason. I hate going to the car park
and the supermarket and driving round and around and going
over the juddabars. But apart from that, does it actually
matter whether the supermarket retailers are doing well and the
dairies aren't.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Well. I think it does. I think it does because
you know, people do love their dairies. But you know,
like you say, people shopping habits have changed, and if
we want to keep our dairy open then we need
to support them. But certainly dairies are a real focal
point in the community. They're very handy to have.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, they definitely are a convenience thing, I think, Annory,
thank you very much for that. Anry Johnson, manager of Advocacy,
Advice and Comms at retail end Z. Great to have
you on the program. Sixteen minutes after five, does anyone
else here if they lose their dairy. Are you Are
you a staunch supporter of your dairy. Do you make
a point of going in. I have quite a good

(02:30):
relationship with my local dairy, so you know, I would
say we're friendly, and I enjoy going in to have
a chat, and I enjoy going in and stopping to
pick up some milk or whatever it is, and it
is way easier. The other thing that I haven't mentioned
is the bike lanes. Cycle lanes which have in some
places at least kind of put the kibosh on people

(02:51):
stopping and running into the dairy for five minutes really quickly.
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