31 May 2022
A huge congratulations to the team at our Takapuna Hospice Shop, which has been named one of Auckland’s top five op shops in 2022!
The recognition has come from op shopping website, opshop.co, which was created after Covid-19 began hitting op shops hard “to give local New Zealand op shops a bit of free publicity”. It runs the popular Facebook group, Op Shopping New Zealand.
The website’s author says of the shop: “The new manager is wonderful and super friendly, the volunteers warm and welcoming, this one is well worth a regular visit. The shop is always beautifully displayed.”
New manager Emily Dearsly, who joined the team in February 2021, says she’s thrilled.
"It’s really been a team effort and I’m proud of the fact there has been a real acceptance of me as a new manager, when the shop was so well managed beforehand. That consistency has come from our wonderful volunteers, who have made me feel nothing but welcome and part of the team.”
The website’s author wrote that they believe shop managers have a huge part to play in the success of an op shop.
“As much as a change of management doesn’t seem to impact general retail too much, often a change of management within an Op Shop can have quite a significant impact. Relationships are built slowly over time within this industry and it’s often the Op Shop manager that facilitates these relationships. The manager is often the eyes, ears, heart and soul of the Op Shop.
“There’s some kind of magic that a good Op Shop manager weaves and that’s really hard to replace.”
The four other shops named in the Top 5 are:
St Andrews Op Shop, Waiuku
Mercy Hospice Shop, Remuera, and Mercy Hospice Shop, Ponsonby
Auckland City Mission Glen Innes Op Shop
Salvation Army Family Store Glen Innes
