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The Country Cobbler in the Dunedin suburb of Mornington is set to close unless Greg Fox can find a buyer for the shop (file picture). Photo: 123RF A Dunedin cobbler is counting down the days to when he hangs up his tools one last time. Greg Fox has been repairing shoes, bags, belts and even motorcycle leathers at Country Cobbler in Dunedin's Mornington for the past 25 years. He has been looking for a buyer for his business and also hoping the owners of the mountain of unclaimed shoes make it back to collect them in time before his door closes. "The plan is if I can't sell it I'll just pack up and take everything home with me, and that's the sort of finish really of the Country Cobbler." Fox said he was closing the business because he was 67 and wanted to retire to spend more time with h...

Photo: Alexa Cook/RNZ Winstone Pulp International, which employs 230 workers across two large North Island mills, is looking at closing its entire NZ operation due to high wholesale power prices Local mayors are lobbying the government to crack down on "price gouging". Ministers have been meeting with several manufacturers this week. Forestry manufacturers say there has been progress in talks with government ministers over the energy price crunch that threatens hundreds of jobs in the sector. The energy sector argues it has been investing heavily - but some experts dispute that. Several forestry product mills met with ministers this week urging the government to help bring wholesale energy costs under control otherwise hundreds of jobs will be lost. Hawke's Bay forestry manufacturin...

Woolworths and New World offer "member pricing" to people who are part of their loyalty programmes. Photo: 123RF There is a risk non-loyalty club members are paying a higher price for groceries than they should, Consumer NZ says - although this is denied by supermarkets. Both major supermarket operators now offer "member pricing" to people who are part of their loyalty programmes. Woolworths has member pricing as part of its Everyday Rewards, and New World has the Clubcard scheme. People who are not members or who do not present their cards do not receive the advertised discounts, which can sometimes mean paying significantly more. Consumer NZ spokesperson Gemma Rasmussen said her organisation was dubious about loyalty programmes. "I think there's definitely a psychology to it where peo...

How can businesses be feeling so positive? Commentators say it may be because things just can't get worse. Source link