On 30 March, Nextra proudly celebrating 30 years at The Village.
Back in 1992 following a career as a partner in a large Chartered Accountancy firm and after that as a director of a property development group, Bill Scott purchased St Ives Village Newsagency. The shop was then bright pink and located opposite Justin’s Cafe (now Cafe JJ).
In 1997 the business was rebranded under the “Nextra” banner and relocated to the then “new” end of the shopping centre to the current location undergoing a few renovations over the years.
The Newsagency has been run by Bill the entire time with his daughters Emma and Karen (both of whom have business qualifications) now managing the shop together whilst raising a young family each.
“During this time many wonderful staff have come and gone but the current team still includes Nancy who has worked for us for the entire 30 years and is well loved by the St Ives community, and Anthony who has been with us for half that time,” said Emma.
She continues, “Our Newsagency business has certainly seen plenty of change over the years and we have adjusted our product range and services offered accordingly.”
“We love conversing with our customers every day, many of them regulars we know by name, and enjoy hearing chuckling in the aisles when shoppers are selecting a funny greeting card. Every day we have people marvelling at the variety of products sold in our store and we are always happy to help them with finding what they need.”
“Those that partake in lotto have done well over the years with three first division wins over Saturday Lotto and Oz Lotto as well as a number of first prizes in Lucky Lotteries and Instant Scratch-Its.”
The Newsagency certainly has one of the best selections of cards on the North Shore along with wrap, stationery, magazines, newspapers, kids’ books, printer ink, party supplies as well as plenty of art and craft goodies. The business offers a fabulous assortment of gifts including candles, diffusers, homewares, photo frames, puzzles, tea, glassware, toys and games. The store also provides a printing and copying service and Bill and Emma are both JPs who are happy to help out the local community when they can.
Speaking of the local community, the family has always been a great supporter in the community, whether through prize donations for school and sporting club fundraisers, gift vouchers for the local art society exhibitions or running fabulous and free school holiday activities at St Ives Shopping Village. Emma and Karen, along with their many amazing suppliers have hosted many successful and popular art and craft sessions for children and adults and relish conversing with customers of all ages.
The family is looking forward to their anniversary this week. “To still be running a successful business after 30 years is a massive achievement and one of which we are very proud. We wish to thank our current team of amazing staff, along with the many that have served our customers with a smile over the years. We look forward to celebrating our 30 year milestone with many customers, suppliers and staff on Wednesday and will have special offers, prizes and sweet treats on the day.” Emma said.
