After eight years at The Good Guys, Nick Elgin is relocating from Melbourne to New Zealand to become the new general manager of Kitchen Things, one of the Shaky Isles’ premium appliance retail chains. Elgin is replacing Aidan Jury, who will depart the company in April.
Click here to read my interview with Nick Elgin about this move
Elgin started his career at the old Betta Electrical in 2005, before moving one year later to The Good Guys, where he has held positions including category manager of major kitchen appliances, general manager of merchandise and general manager of ‘Techzone’ and accessories.
Kitchen Things comprises 18 showrooms, including two outlet stores, spanning New Zealand. There are stores in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin, Palmerston North and other centres. The chain is owned by Jones Family Investments (JFI), which is overseen by executive chairman Mark Jones.
“We have been very fortunate to find and secure the ideal manager to lead the Kitchen Things New Zealand business and help us achieve our long term strategic plan,” Jones told me.
“Now with Nick Elgin as general manager of Kitchen Things New Zealand, Craig Hider as general manager of Applico Ltd and the JFI executive team, my daughter Rachel Louie and I have a formidable senior management team.”
Applico is the New Zealand importer of Smeg, Baumatic, Classique and Viking appliances, which are then retailed through Kitchen Things and other third party retailers.
With Elgin now on board, Jones’ focus is switching to JFI’s next venture, a New Zealand-wide installation and service company.
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