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Turners celebrates 50 years

Posted on 20 September, 2017
Turners celebrates 50 years

Turners Auctions is celebrating 50 years in business. In 1967, a second-hand truck was sold at a Turners & Growers fruit and veg auction, marking the beginning of the Turners success story. Since then, Turners has grown, taken on the internet and become part of a larger integrated business, selling hundreds of cars, boats, trailers, trucks and general goods every day. From a grand first year profit of $120 to over $12 million in 2017, Turners say their business has matured, but remains a distinctly kiwi brand. Ten years after that first sale in 1967, Turners had either enough money to paint the floor of its dusty warehouse in Fanshawe St or advertise. Advertising was chosen, and the decision provided the boost needed to set Turners up for the hey days of the 80s. By the start the decade, Turners was selling 2,000 cars a year and building its network across New Zealand, with its first purpose-built auction centre in Hamilton. Turners brought some innovative changes to the auction experiences, running night time events with DJs and $1 reserves In the late 1990s, Turners moved to its Penrose super site, capable of auctioning 1,000 vehicles a week. And in 2002, the company went out its own, splitting from Turners & Growers and becoming a listed company in its own right. “Turners virtually created the vehicle auction industry in New Zealand and, hundreds of thousands of customers later, we are now one of the country’s largest used vehicle resellers,” says Turners’ chief executive officer Todd Hunter. “Kiwis are car lovers and we have one of the highest per capita ownership of vehicles in the world. Our love affair with cars shows no sign of abating, with automotive sales and registrations continuing to rise.” As a publicly listed company, Turners Auctions says it will challenge itself to make innovative changes, in order to drive growth into the future. Hunter says that Turners is proud to have been moving New Zealanders for the past 50 years, and is looking forward to an exciting future.