Third time unlucky for new business

When Autozone Gisborne opened in March 2022, owner Jason Harding was looking forward to building his own business and enjoying the work.

Two Covid-19 shutdowns and a cyclone later, he’s worried about the long-term impact on the business.

Despite the three strikes, Jason feels luckier than others on the East Coast - his house and business weren’t flooded but the ongoing fallout of the cyclone worries him.

“I opened in 2022 and Covid-19 shut me down two weeks later. That was my introduction to going into business; we carried on, expanded and employed a couple of extra guys and then had the Covid-19 shutdown again.

“Then this cyclone hit us and we had to close the doors for another week because staff couldn’t get in.”

Jason’s now worried about the long-term impact on his business, which specialises in custom and classic cars.

“The flow-on effect for us is going to be huge because customers have got bigger problems to worry about than getting their car serviced,” Jason says.