SUCCESSFUL INSTORE DAYS

Ruralco’s 29th annual Instore Days’ which ran from Thursday 6th to Friday 7th of July, proved to be a great success despite cautious expectations leading up to the event.

Group CEO, Robert Sharkie said, “There was some nervousness pre-Instore Days given the current economic environment. We know it’s hard work out there at the moment, but we have been pleasantly surprised with the positive response to our Instore Days. It’s great to see that level of confidence within the farming community as we come together to celebrate all things agricultural.”

While the Ashburton, Rakaia and Methven stores all experienced high numbers of visitors, Ruralco’s online presence continued to grow during Instore Days, with the first online sale recorded at 2am on the first day. “It’s great to be able to meet our member’s needs in a variety of ways. Yes, it’s about pricing, but it’s also about providing meaningful and sincere service. We know that our business is intricately intertwined with our farmers’ businesses - we are very attuned to that, and we genuinely care about what happens to them.”

There’s been even more cause for celebration this year as the farming cooperative gears up for its 60th anniversary next month. From humble beginnings in 1963, when a group of Mid Canterbury farmers got together to find ways to lower agricultural input costs, the co-operative has grown beyond its original catchment, having a national reach through its online presence and card network. Instore Days is part of that long held tradition and remains a great opportunity for the farming community to come together, to meet with the Ruralco team and other industry players to hear first-hand about products, services, new initiatives and technologies which can assist all farming operations. This year over eighty supplier businesses participated onsite and online, with an extensive network of card merchants also participating through their own stores and with more than 2,000 members attending the two-day event.

“The original intent to support farmers has remained unchanged. We’ve had farmers’ backs for sixty years, and we will continue to do so for another sixty,” Robert concluded.