Independent Timber Merchants

Independent Timber Merchants or the Independent Timber Merchants Society (usually shortened as ITM) is a New Zealand co-operative of independent building supplies and hardware retailers. Its stores sell a range of products to both tradespeople and consumers, including building supplies, power tools, kitchens and paint.[1]

Independent Timber Merchants
IndustryRetail
Headquarters
New Zealand
Area served
New Zealand
ProductsBuilding supplies
Websiteitm.co.nz

The co-operative is the largest group of independent trade merchants in New Zealand.[2] It is the second largest supplier of timber to the New Zealand building industry after Fletcher Building subsidiary PlaceMakers.[3] There are 95 ITM member stores around New Zealand, including 16 in Auckland.[1]

History

1990s

The Independent Timber Merchants Society was formed in 1991,[4][1] with six founding stores in the Northland Region.[5]

The society was registered as a company in 1993.[6]

In 1999, there were 89 ITM stores around the country.[7]

2000s

In 2003, there were 80 ITM stores.[8]

2010s

Picton ITM experienced a downturn in demand for building supplies following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It responded in 2013 by expanding into the production of steel framing for clients in Canterbury and around the country, including schools.[9]

In 2019, there were 94 ITM stores.[7]

The timber yard at the Kopu store near Thames was gutted by fire in November 2019.[10] No one was injured in the fire.[11]

2020s

In mid-2020 a cat who had been living in the Marton store for ten years disappeared for several months.[12] The SPCA investigated reports the store manager had abandoned the cat in the countryside after it became a nuisance.[13] The cat was relocated to New Plymouth before disappearing again.[14]

In February 2021, a new ITM franchisee opened in Dunedin.[5]

In March 2021, Carter Holt Harvey stopped selling structural timber to ITM due to a global timber shortage,[15] leaving member stores short of stock.[16] Some builders were affected,[17] while some were able to source their timber from other sources instead.[18] ITM criticised Carter Holt Harvey's decision to continue supplying timber to its rival PlaceMakers.[3] By May, builders were waiting six months for building supplies; the owner of the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne ITM stores blamed the closure of sawmills coinciding with a rapid growth in the construction sector.[19]

In September 2021, one person was injured when a Stratford ITM truck rolled outside Stratford.[20]

In March 2022, Fletcher Building sought clearance from the Commerce Commission to purchase Tumu Merchants Limited, including a timber plant in Hastings and ITM stores in Gisborne, Napier, Hastings, Havelock North, Dannevirke and Masterton. At the time, Fletcher already owned a timber plant in Taupō and ITM rival PlaceMakers.[21] In July, the Commission cleared the purchase after the stores left the ITM group.[22] In its determination, the Commission stated there would still be local competition and ITM would still have a significant network of stores in New Zealand.[23]

Sponsorships

ITM has purchased the naming rights for sports events, including the NPC rugby tournament,[24] Auckland SuperSprint motorsport event,[25] and Hamilton 400 motorsport event.[2]

ITM has sponsored the TV3 and Discovery Channel fishing programme ITM Fishing Show, which featured on The Late Show With David Letterman.[26] It also sponsored the 2017 Prime reboot ITM Hook Me up!.[27][28]

The Independent Timber Merchants Society sponsors a regional apprenticeship competition in 20 locations around the country.[29] The first round of the competition was held in 2022.[30]

References
  1. "ITM". itm.co.nz. Independent Timber Merchants Cooperative.
  2. Thompsom, Eric (29 October 2009). "Motorsport: ITM deal boosts Hamilton 400". APN News & Media. New Zealand Herald.
  3. "The trouble with timber". Allied Press. Otago Daily Times. 1 April 2021.
  4. "ITM the first 25 years". Marketplace Media. New Zealand Hardware Journal. 8 April 2016.
  5. Quirey, Bruce (26 February 2021). "Owning ITM store 'really appealing'". Allied Press. Otago Daily Times.
  6. "Independent Timber Merchants Co-Operative Ltd". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg News.
  7. "Then as Now". Marketplace Media. Hardware Journal. 18 December 2019.
  8. Bingham, Eugene (24 October 2003). "Retailers jostle for the DIY dollar". Wilson & Horton. New Zealand Herald.
  9. Lewis, Oliver (17 February 2016). "Picton ITM steel framing business booming in Marlborough". Nine Entertainment. Marlborough Express.
  10. Tantau, Kelley (11 November 2019). "Owners of gutted timber yard 'more determined than ever' following fire". Nine Entertainment. Waikato Times.
  11. "Emergency services battling large fire at Thames timber yard". Nine Entertainment. Waikato Times. 10 November 2019.
  12. Owen, Lisa (19 February 2021). "Roaming Rodney the ITM cat finds a new home in Whanganui". Radio New Zealand. RNZ National.
  13. Jacobs, Maxine (30 June 2020). "SPCA investigates bizarre dumping of ITM store's counter cat". stuff.co.nz.
  14. Jacobs, Maxine (31 December 2020). "Beloved hardware store cat Rodney remains missing 200 kilometres from home". stuff.co.nz.
  15. "New Zealand 28 Mar 2021 Concerns cost of timber will rise as major supplier halts local sales". Radio New Zealand. RNZ News. 28 March 2021.
  16. Pearse, Adam (27 March 2021). "Housing: Carter Holt Harvey cuts timber supplies to Mitre 10, Bunnings, ITM". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. New Zealand Herald.
  17. "Timber supply problem to hit smaller building companies hardest - industry". Radio New Zealand. RNZ News. 29 March 2021.
  18. Kelly, Rachael (7 April 2021). "Southern builders will cope with lack of timber supplies". stuff.co.nz. Southland Times.
  19. Kitchin, Tom (14 May 2021). "Six-month wait for supplies and becoming worse, builders say". Radio New Zealand. RNZ News.
  20. Harvey, Helen (29 September 2021). "Person injured in Taranaki truck crash". stuff.co.nz. Taranaki Daily News.
  21. "Fletcher Seeks Clearance To Acquire Tumu ITM". scoop.co.nz. Commerce Commission. 22 March 2022.
  22. "Fletcher Distribution cleared to acquire Tumu stores and a frame and truss plant". Commerce Commission. 29 July 2022.
  23. "Fletcher Distribution Limited and Tumu Merchants Limited [2022] NZCC 27" (PDF). Commerce Commission. 27 July 2022.
  24. Wall, Jamie (11 October 2021). "'Honestly bro, it was hard': SBW on the whiteness of the NZ rugby establishment". The Spinoff.
  25. Lewis, Brad (3 November 2018). "Supercars: ITM Auckland SuperSprint". MediaWorks New Zealand. Newshub.
  26. Eley, Peter (13 August 2020). "How ITM Fishing's Matt Watson quit Discovery and landed dream home". stuff.co.nz.
  27. "The ITM Fishing Show hooks in a new time slot on Prime with revived programme". stuff.co.nz. 28 September 2017.
  28. "End of the line for ITM Fishing Show". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Northern Advocate. 28 September 2017.
  29. "Call for carpentry apprentices to compete in regional showdown". Gisborne Herald. 18 March 2022.
  30. "Carpentry apprentice challenge adds first-ever BOI event". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. The Northland Age. 17 March 2022.
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