What, Me Worry?

No, no. This isn't a fond remembering of Mad magazine in the 70s, though that was arguably when it was at its height. No, this is all about the Petone hardware wars. Until this week, Mitre 10 has reigned supreme with its mega store selling everything imaginable and, along the way, tolling the death knell for so many great little businesses that once served the locals.

And so it may have continued but for some clever clog in NZ Post, who thought, "Why do we need an efficient, purpose built mail centre in Petone when we could build a whole new one for the Wellington region in a handy location - say Palmerston North!" And so it came to be that a really massive building was going begging. A little bit of re-jigging, and we now have a Bunnings. It opened quietly on Monday. Apparently the official opening is on Friday, when lots of important people have been invited - though I was assured, when I popped in today, that the most important people were actually the customers! So, how does it stack up? Well, it's very big.

The cafe looks a bit naff, but Mitre 10's is nothing to write home about coffee-wise. Bunnings does a way better children's playgound - reminiscent of MacDonald's - and if it keeps the kiddies busy that's a bonus for every shopper.

There are lots of staff on hand, though answering questions about lumens in LED lightbulbs would not appear to be a particular strength in any I encountered, so I stuck with an old incandescent version for a pleasing 97 cents. (If anyone knows how many lumens equate to a good old 100 watt bulb, do let me know for future reference.) So, are the folk at Mitre 10 worried about the new mega-kid on the mega-block? My guess would be yes, if the bus-stop directly outside Bunnings front door ...

... and the billboard opposite are anything to go by.