One of New Zealand’s last army surplus stores is closing after 20 years
Saturday, 2 March 2024
Army and Outdoors is the latest in a series of closures of army surplus stores in New Zealand over the last few years.
Army surplus stores are one of the only places where you can legally buy military equipment and gear.
Stores like Army and Outdoors have attracted everyone from military collectors to dress up party goers over the years.
One of the last army surplus stores in New Zealand is set to close after 20 years of providing everything from trench coats to boots to enthusiastic dress up party goers and campers.
Army and Outdoors has taken on a somewhat iconic presence on Karangahape Road since its opening in 2004 and has attracted customers from all over the country as just one of a few army surplus stores left.
This is the latest in a series of closures of similar stores around New Zealand over the last few years. Onehunga’s Army & Leather store closed in 2021, Bulls AA Army Surplus in 2020, and New Plymouth’s Taranaki Army Surplus in 2016.
Now, only Comrades in Wellington remains, with the trade in army surplus products moving online for the most part or being sold in non-specialist outdoors shops such as Outpost in Nelson.
Army and Outdoors owner Jason Robinson is shutting the doors after running the store for 10 years. He says retail has been on the decline post-Covid. “I probably put a good majority of it down to high inflation and the cost of living crisis, basically people have less discretionary income.”
Then there is also the increase in crime and violence on Karangahape Road. “It's gotten to the point where it's just really hard to operate our business in that environment,” Robinson says.
Offering army surplus stock from around the world many towns and cities across New Zealand had shops like Army and Outdoors, but they are rare, being one of the few places where people can buy military equipment and gear.
“It's definitely not your typical business trying to find all these things, you have to hunt around for them. Most of our surplus stock is from Europe and America, while some of our reproduction products are from China and Southeast Asia,” Robinson says.
Army surplus stores attract a diverse range of customers with everyone from military collectors to dress up party goers turning up to get their hands on military-quality stock.
“I think that there's a fascination with products and items that come from far flung places all around the world, stuff that you wouldn't typically find in a normal store.”
“You've got people who are looking for fashion reasons, we do a lot of film and TV work, we get a lot of famous people in our store, Jason Momoa was in here last week, he has been in a few times,” Robinson says.
As far as the remaining army surplus stores are concerned, Comrades in Wellington is still going strong. Opened in 1990, they have a store on Cuba Street and a warehouse in Petone. Staff member Greg Pugh says they still attract good business from a mixture of people wanting hunting and fishing gear and those just after period military fashion.
“People come in here buying cooking utensils and gas stoves, but for the most part it is fashion now with university students. Everyone wants a really cool shoulder bag, trench coats can be quite popular as well,” Pugh says.
He added that Comrades being the only army surplus shop in Wellington means it has become a destination of sorts, with tourists in particular.
At Army and Outdoors, Robinson acknowledges the closure is the end of an era.
“It's a real shame that we are closing because we've been around 20 years and our customers know us, so a lot of people are gonna feel a loss that we're going as much as we are.”
Robinson hopes they will be able to convert a lot of their regular in-store shoppers online, with the company continuing to maintain a warehouse in Christchurch for online orders.