Community strength and longevity on show at Ruralco Instore Days
Words by Anita Body
Bringing the farming community together, strengthening existing relationships and forging new connections has been the focus of this year’s Ruralco Instore Days.
This year’s 33rd Instore Days event took place on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd July at the Mid Canterbury based co-operatives’ three retail stores in Ashburton, Methven and Rakaia. As well as connecting Ruralco members with the latest in products, services and innovations which support their farming operations, this year there was also a strong focus on supporting community groups.
This meant locals had the opportunity to connect with the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust, Federated Farmers, Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective, and the organisers of the Ruralco Longbeach Coastal Challenge. “We are very proud to partner with these local organisations assisting them in making meaningful connections as they deliver a variety of wonderful support to Mid Canterbury farmers,” says Ruralco CEO, Tony Aitken.
“Instore Days is about more than just providing great pricing for our members – it is about being part of something bigger which sees us come together as a farming community and this event is a reminder of how strong our community is when that happens with over 2,500 farming folk in attendance.”
Most farming sectors, with the exception of arable, are experiencing one of the best seasons for some time this year, so it was not surprising feedback from site holders at the two-day event reported good sales leads and orders. This bodes well not just for Ruralco, but also for the wider Mid Canterbury region, says Tony. It means the spend stays local, which benefits the whole community.
“Ruralco is incredibly proud of the role it plays in supporting the community. Through our business and our merchant network, we enable or facilitate more than $250 million spending in Mid Canterbury each year.”
Many of the local businesses and suppliers taking part in this year’s Instore Days have been part of Instore Days for many years – with some involved since the very beginning.
This includes one of the winners of the hotly contested best site awards, Datamars which took out the top prize for the best Retail Site. Despite its long attendance record, it has been around 20 years since the organisation won the coveted prize. Upper South Island Territory Manager, James Sutherland says they were very excited about the win which they attributed to concentrating on their core brands, sharing their product knowledge and maintaining high service levels.
The Best Partner Site was awarded to Allied Petroleum, which has been attending Instore Days for five years, and achieved its first win this year. “We’re thrilled to receive the award for Best Partner Site at Instore Days, which recognises the longstanding relationship between Allied Petroleum and Ruralco, and our commitment to delivering a high-quality product and service to members,” says Area Sales Manager South Canterbury, Richard Bell.
“It’s wonderful to see our merchants and supplier partners come together to deliver real value for our members and help us create an event that celebrates the importance and innovation of agriculture,” says Tony.
Instore Days has become a cornerstone event in Mid Canterbury, providing a great opportunity to bring together farmers, merchants, and suppliers in a genuinely valuable way. Ruralco was founded by Mid Canterbury farmers in 1963 looking to lower input costs for their farming operations and that local ownership and core focus remain just as strong as we look to the future, says Tony.
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