New Aussie owner has big plans for Christchurch online furniture retailer Mocka

Friday, 13 December 2024

Mocka started out selling nursery furniture and has since expanded to sell a wider range of furniture.

Christchurch-founded online furniture retailer Mocka is expanding into physical retail, with new owner Adairs Group planning a network of shops for the fast-growing furniture brand.

Australian stock exchange-listed retail giant Adairs acquired Mocka in a part-shares, part-cash deal worth A$75.5 million ($83 million) in 2020. The deal was completed in 2021 ‒ earlier than initially planned due to the business outperforming expectations.

The group, which operates homewares chain Adairs and furniture chain Focus On Furniture, acquired Mocka with the expectation it would help Adairs supercharge its online sales.

Now, three years later, the group is taking the first steps to establish Mocka as an omnichannel ‒ e-commerce and bricks and mortar ‒ retailer.

Mocka has combined with Adairs in Sylvia Park shopping centre.

Mocka chief executive Catherine Williamson said the group established Mocka’s first bricks and mortar retail debut, through a shop-in-shop concept which saw a small shop set up within existing Adairs stores.

Adairs Sylvia Park in Auckland was the first store to roll out the concept, with one of the front windows dedicated to displaying Mocka product and a range of 80 products housed in the store.

Williamson said the group would continue to roll out more shop-in-shops, with more Adairs stores set to combine with Mocka in Hamilton and Auckland’s Botany. The company was in the process of building a bigger combined store set to open in Tower Junction, Christchurch, in 2025.

By November 2025, it plans to open its first standalone Mocka store.

“We want to know how our customers want to best experience and engage with us, so we very much see that there is the potential to roll out more stores beyond that, but equally we want to get that store format and physical environment right.

Mocka chief executive Catherine Williamson says the online furniture retailer is set to open retail stores.

“We’re excited to go through that design process, and part of doing this shop-in-shop is learning what are the things we can take from that.

“In Australia we ran a cafe activation where we took over a cafe and took out all the furniture and put in kids’ furniture. It was called Mini Mocka Cafe, we’ve been doing these things to know what our customers love and engage with, and how could we make our physical space a bit special.”

Mocka employs 68 staff, most based in New Zealand, in Christchurch.

It has websites both in New Zealand and Australia, with a growing ‒ and currently bigger ‒ business in New Zealand.

“I believe there's an opportunity to show up with something a bit different in the furniture space, particularly in a physical form. We've done online super well, and that's led to great growth and very happy customers, and now we want to take that into the physical form,” said Williamson.

“We're excited to roll out these shops in New Zealand, and then we're on the hunt for our standalone store. We’re super excited for what's to come.”

Mocka’s sales spiked through the pandemic and its customer base grew significantly during that time as a result of changing consumer purchasing habits.

The brand was founded in 2007 by the Blake family in Christchurch, who started making nursery and children’s furniture. More recently the brand has grown its product range to sell everything from entertainment units through to dining room tables and chairs.