Niche market cornered | Manawatu-Wanganui Business | Business News for Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

A new store at Wanganui's Trafalgar Square Shopping Centre specialises in electronic components - and manager Michael Hopper says it is being welcomed.

Leading Edge Electronics opened on December 10. It's owned by Waikanae man Richard Hansen and is part of the huge Australasian buying group, Leading Edge.

The shop sells everything from resistors to business servers.

Mr Hopper said it would appeal to people like ham radio operators - people who wanted to install their own electronic devices.

It can get computers built to order, and will soon stock all the gear needed to change a home television system to Freeview.

There's also equipment for Wanganui people who make working models. That hasn't been available elsewhere for at least a year said Mr Hopper, who has spent 10 years in retail at Dick Smith and Harvey Norman stores.

"A lot of people have said that it's been a long time coming for Wanganui to have these things. There hasn't been a hobbyist shop for a while."

The new store has access to 19,000 product lines. It's too small to hold them all, but will order in items customers want.

It's open seven days a week and has five staff, most working at least 30 hours a week. Mr Hansen found them by word of mouth, and also by asking Winz for suitable job seekers.

"They were really, really happy to suddenly have work, especially just before Christmas."

Mr Hansen is also thinking of putting a sales representative on the road in the wider Manawatu region to supply components to commercial electronics installers.

Leading Edge is an Australian buying group. By banding together to buy in bulk members can keep the prices down on everything from golf accessories to telecommunications. Members pay a monthly fee, and benefit from Leading Edge support structures as well as increased buying power.

Wanganui's may be the first fully branded Leading Edge Electronics store in New Zealand, Mr Hansen said. He saw the empty retail space there as an opportunity.

Mr Hansen is a bit of a business dynamo. He also owns the Telecom store at Trafalgar Square, another in Palmerston North, other stores and a building and landscaping business.