Night 'n Day

OMAHU

Wayne Hart, owner-operator and Night ’n Day Omahu franchisee, had no prior grocery market experience before entering the industry with his role at Night ’n Day. For 18 years, he worked within the construction market as a key account manager over several segments during this period, working for a global corporation.

Over his years in this role, he honed his skills in relationship building, strategic negotiation, and business data analysis. Before being a key account manager, Hart was in the UK, where he founded an events management and record company to a higher level.

Choosing a career path in the grocery sector was an interest for Wyane for various reasons, primarily that a consumable business was attractive for its reasonably robust nature in a declining economic market.

“It is a positive cashflow industry, has a simple business model (buy in - sell out), and being an essential service made perfect sense for a strategic investment strategy,” said Hart.

He added that how the industry also connects with local communities was a welcome bonus.

For Hart, being part of a great franchise system was vital, with the Night ’n Day franchise standing out as it was a familyestablished and operated business with cutting-edge marketing and solid systems and processes.

Plant-based products have become increasingly popular on a social and environmental level, with Hart adding that products within this segment had massive potential for the grocery industry. He said that now the grocery industry was beginning to see great products come to the market that both taste good but are also starting to advance regarding textures and smell, mimicking that of traditional protein products and, in some cases cooking and resembling just meat.

He continued that the plantbased category has a slow uptake in his store due to his customer preference, despite being a plantbased consumer. Hart makes high-quality, plant-based readily available on his store’s shelves to test his communities market, with the hope that this will gain traction over time.

“Sustainability is important for the planet, and as a group, we strive to decrease our footprint where possible. I try to buy sustainable products for the shelves where I possibly can. We have also moved our consumable packaging to sustainable materials where possible.”

Hart also works closely with a procurement manager who works hard with suppliers testing products and procuring with sustainability in mind. From the 1st of June, Hart has a supply of sugarcane cutlery to replace Night ’n Day’s plastic supply, ahead of the ban on PLA plastic, which has come into effect.

Hart aims to grow his store to a much higher level by focusing on the community and providing excellent customer service while offering a broad range of products.

He said that his store’s three pillars were food-to-go, milk bar, and hot beverages, which he continued was also his store’s point of difference and would continue to be his core focus, alongside his motto, ‘we’ve got it when you want it’.

The current crime wave the industry has faced has been a significant issue for Hart, with him investing in short-term plans to improve security and staff welfare. He is upgrading his CCTV and continually communicating with local police using the Auror platform to upload crime instantly.

“This has been instrumental in building relationships with the police and local business community.”

With Smokefree 2025 nearing, and if it is to go through, lobbying will play a big part in Hart’s medium-term plans, ensuring that the store has its best foot forward to be one of the few retailers for tobacco within its zone.

In the long term, Hart stated he planned to improve on what the store already does well.

With only 20 months into the business and industry, Hart said his first 12 months were about learning and understanding the grocery sector. Now, with the learning curve behind him, he has started to see some tremendous in-store results, with his store recently receiving recognition of excellence for ranking first in the franchise group on the highest sales for the product of the month.

Hart also said that it was rewarding to see the growth his team was achieving in-store over several departments.

“Confectionery is my biggest passion, and there lies some great opportunity for our store.”

The store stocks and supports local suppliers where possible, fortunate to be located in the fruit region of New Zealand, Hawkes Bay. Hart said he purchases produce from local producers for its freshly made products in the Night ’n Day kitchen. He also has local beverages produced in the bay sitting on shelves, with the store always keen to try new innovative products manufactured locally.

Hart added that he was grateful for the marketing support provided to his Night ‘n Day store, enabling the store to stay current and fun. When discussing his own team, Hart said he couldn’t be prouder to work with people as passionate about the business as he is.

When describing his store and team culture, Hart said they had fostered an environment of ‘Whanau away from home’.

“We support one another, like to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously.” n