| 13 McPhail Sports T T Kim Newth Stylish premises wowing the world The interior feels light, bright and chic, like an upmarket art gallery or club. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Step through the cedar timber doors at 91 Wrights Road, Addington and be prepared for a delightful surprise. Here New York-style design sophistication meets Kiwi pop art inspiration. The interior feels light, bright and chic, like an upmarket art gallery or club. In fact, this is McPhail Sports new Christchurch headquarters, complete with open-plan offices flowing through to glass-walled meeting rooms, luxurious lounge amenities for online meetings, an inspiring display of classic cars, a boutique bar and a dedicated showroom promoting all the latest options available from famed watersports brand, Body Glove. Big box retail buyers from the four corners of the globe are beating a path here to check out this next-level showroom and place orders. Andrew McPhail, CEO/director of McPhail Sports Ltd, who has a picture-perfect view of Addington Raceway from his upper level executive office, credits wife Jacqui for the inspiring vision behind the interior design and fit-out that is now wowing their clientele. “Since opening here this year, we’ve had reps through from the US, Australia and Europe/UK, as well as domestically, groups from The Warehouse, Number One Shoes and Torpedo 7,” says Andrew. “All have been absolutely blown away by what we’ve done here. We can run through the brand in our showroom, reviewing colours and new seasonal styles. We’ll end up around the bar at the end of the day. It’s a superb sales hub.” Members of Body Glove’s founding family, the Meistrell family, have also been to visit, along with the brand’s current owners, Marquee Brands. “They say we have the best Body Glove showroom in the world and are telling all their international licensees to come visit us.” Representing the fourth-generation of the McPhail business dynasty in Christchurch, Andrew is proud of all that his family has achieved in both business and sport. Work and play have always been two sides of the same coin for this family, whose well-rounded approach to life has made a lasting impact that extends beyond the world of textiles. In the 1960s, for example, Neil McPhail coached the All Blacks to greatness against France, Britain and South Africa; he still ranks as fifth-best All Blacks coach of all time. While a love for recreation and sport has been a constant through the generations, Andrew says there has been amazing amount of change on the business side. McPhail & Fisher began more than a century ago as a leather and textiles manufacturer and retailer. Manufacturing was still the backbone of the business through to the 1970s and ’80s with the focus having swung by then to denim-wear, leather and sheepskin jackets. “[But] By the late 1980s [when tariff protections were being systematically stripped away] my father’s factory was struggling – he still had 100 machinists, cutters, pattern makers and warehouse staff back then, but it was getting more and more difficult.” A breakthrough move by Andrew in 1991 to sign up as the sole New Zealand licensee for Body Glove propelled the McPhail story safely into the next chapter. By 1997, Sir Stephen Tindall of The Warehouse had signed with McPhail Sports to supply them with Body Glove product and Andrew subsequently took the Body Glove licence to the Australian market and beyond. It is a completely different business model, compared to the McPhail & Fisher days. “We’re a global company now with no debt, no credit, and we carry no stock. We don’t have a warehouse; instead, we carry an extensive range of samples in our showroom. Everything is made to order in China. We’re a true trading company.” Meanwhile, the accolades keep coming for McPhail Sports, which won the Australian retailer Anaconda, Trade Partner of the Year 2024 award. It comes hot on the heels of having won Anaconda Trade Show’s Water & Land Trade Partner of the Year 2023 and a prestigious NZ Family Business Excellence Award. Proud to be associated with McPhail Sports 021 297 9694 elitedec@xtra.co.nz Elite Decorators Ltd Call us for a quote: Escea Gas Fire supplied & installed by Quality Heating Services Ltd Proudly supporting McPhail Sports NZ Frameless Glass is the South Island’s leading architectural glazing company, specialising in sleek, modern frameless glass designs with a high-quality nish. Our range of frameless glass products is not only stylish but also a ordable, adding signi cant value to your property.
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