The dynamic nature of retailing continues to be evident at the railway shops.

Often mistaken for the township of Ōtaki, the precinct on the highway contains several outlet stores and a mix of local and corporate retailers.

The area will see a dramatic decrease in traffic flows when the Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway is completed in 2021, presenting opportunities for the area to be more customer-friendly. No one will miss the weekend traffic jams and the constant flow of heavy trucks.

Recent positive signs include an expansion of the TS 14+ women’s clothing store. It has doubled its retail space by integrating what was the next-door NZ Natural clothing company. NZ Natural has moved into the previous Marlan Trading, which continues to operate upstairs.

Across the road from RiverStone Café, work has begun on construction of a new Hunting & Fishing store. The current store will become available for lease when H&F move out – expected to be by April next year.

 Hunting & Fishing Ōtaki co-owner Mark Matthews says the old store had limited capacity for the extensive stock available.

“We were running out of space and just couldn’t represent the products well,” he says. “We had about 280 square metres. The new store will give us twice that space.”

The store will have retailing on the ground floor, with a mezzanine for offices and a display area. Construction of the building should be completed by mid February, and after the fitout, opening day is scheduled for early April at the latest.

On the railway station side of Arthur Street, Bay Audiology has moved into the space previously occupied by a golf outlet store. Next door, the St John shop has moved out and is empty. The Traffic Café site, after closing several years ago, remains untenanted.

Meantime, work on the Caltex site is awaiting resource consent.