Croxley calls time on NZ production in face of cheap imports

Croxley calls time on NZ production in face of cheap imported stationery

By Jonathan Underhill

Aug. 21 (BusinessDesk) - Croxley Stationery, whose stationery brands include Olympic, Warwick and Collins, plans to cease manufacturing in New Zealand because it has struggled to compete with lower-cost imports in a market where the printed word is giving way to electronic communications.

The company would cease manufacturing at its plant in Avondale, Auckland, next year to focus on being a stationery wholesaler, it said in a statement. The firm grew out of the UK's John Dickson & Co that opened in its first New Zealand branch in 1920, according to the company's website. The company is now a unit of US-based Office Depot Inc.

“I’m truly sorry for our staff that it has come to this but there are a number of external influences that have forced our hand,” said managing director David Lilburne. “We are operating in an environment which has seen a decline in postal use and a reduction in demand for traditional paper based office products. Emails have replaced envelopes and writing pads.

“The widespread availability of cheaper imported products is also a factor as is the foreign exchange rate which impacts on our ability to successfully export products manufactured here,” he said.

Closing the plant would result in 100 jobs being lost at the plant, it said. The company will make a final decision on Sept. 4.

(BusinessDesk)

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