159Design, a collaborative space for the design industry, influences HARO Flooring’s offering

For companies within the architecture and construction industry, finding a new showroom in Auckland to display its offerings in the best possible light can be difficult at the best of times.

Location becomes the primary driver, along with convenience ease for the industry.

This was the case for HARO NZ — the exclusive distributor of premium oak engineered timber flooring for HARO Germany. The majority of the HARO Oak is sourced from local forests, with the mid layer construction coming from Scandinavia. HARO’s sustainable ethos and philosophies are integrated through not only their production facilities and all products they produce.

Finding the correct space to showcase all of these offerings was a challenge — but HARO persisted in its search for the right fit.

“Finding the right balance that took all of our must-haves into account was the main challenge,” says Richard St John, HARO Flooring’s New Zealand Operations and Sales Manager. “We wanted to be in a certain area of Auckland, with ample parking and floorspace, primarily.”

Of course there’s the location, arguably the most significant factor in the search; then there’s the space itself, and its size, layout and functionality.

An option came up via Montreux Furnishing for something different: a collaborative space, sharing the showroom with other trade-focused interior design companies in one large one-stop-shop for design. This opportunity came late last year in the form of 159Design, an all-in-one trade destination in the heart of Auckland,

Situated on Great North Road in Grey Lynn and spearheaded by James Dunlop Textiles, the location ticked all of HARO’s boxes. “We pulled the trigger on this location because James Dunlop are great operators, and we liked the idea of having like-minded, luxury brands all under the same roof.”

The site is almost brand new — the building’s renovation was completed late last year, upgraded from an old emergency response and civil emergency call centre. The new 2,400 square metre conglomerated space is spread over three levels, with 13 separate companies making 159Design their new hub.

“Essentially, it’s a trade resource for the design community,” says Richard. “It showcases furniture, lighting, textiles, and in our case, flooring.”

Richard says the shared space fosters a collaborative spirit and greater sense of community, but also makes sound business sense too. With a model focusing on B2B/B2C, HARO Flooring reaps additional benefits from being a stone’s throw away from furnishing and textiles purveyors.

“The architecture, interior design and specifier industries are extremely important for us,” says Richard, “and those clients come in either looking for flooring, furnishing or textiles — or all of them at once.

“So having a one stop shop in this way works effectively. Flooring is just one part of the overall puzzle that architects and designers are dealing with, so it makes it easier for them to have different offerings all under one roof.”

The layout is also beneficial when the clients of the architects and interior designers come in themselves, as they can potentially see several different flooring, lighting or furniture products in situ at the same time and decide for themselves then and there.

But one of the most welcome benefits of 159Design, albeit somewhat unintended, is circulation of ideas and concepts between the various tenants.

“The collaborative approach helps our brand and it helps the other brands as well,” says Richard. “It’s in our interest to collaborate with each other, and that’s a refreshing way to cohabit a commercial space.

“Sharing this 2,400 square metre space works in so many ways — it’s a pretty special place.”

Learn more about HARO Flooring and its offerings of solid timber, engineered timber, internal cladding and more.