First Gull site to open in South Island in July, with more planned

3 MinutesBy NZ Trucking magazineApril 11, 2019

Gull has announced it is aiming for a July launch of its first South Island site in Maheno on State Highway 1 south of Oamaru.

“We have been inundated with thousands of requests to launch the ‘Gull Effect‘ in the South Island, and so we are stoked to be bringing competitive prices to Mainland motorists who have been paying far too much for their petrol for far too long,” says Gull New Zealand general manager Dave Bodger.

The ‘Gull Effect‘ is a term coined by the AA after observing how opposition sites lower their fuel prices to match when a Gull site opens in the town or neighbourhood.

“It‘s not rocket science that greater competition is what will give much better value to South Island motorists and so we are excited to be launching the Gull brand with a further five Gull sites in the planning and consenting process and due to open in the next one to two years.”

Bodger says the ‘Gull Effect‘ may not reach far beyond Maheno initially, but Gull has a build programme to greatly extend its reach in the South Island, and already has development sites in greater Canterbury and Christchurch.

“Maheno is an awesome place for us to plant Gull‘s first ID sign for the South Island. We know the South Island motorist wants great value for their fuel and don‘t want to pay for all the ‘bling and glitter‘ that many of our opposition are keen to build.

“‘Flash Harry‘ opposition needs a high petrol price to pay back his expensive investment in fancy sites but Gull doesn‘t operate that way – we prefer to keep dollars in our customers‘ wallets which has always been Gull‘s aim. As a passionate Mainlander from Christchurch, it is fantastic to be finally bringing the Gull Brand south,” says Bodger.

Bodger concludes that while Maheno is an existing service station under an independent brand, Gull has obtained the lease on the property.

“We will add additional tanks to boost fuel capacity and operate the site as a Gull unmanned site from July with payment for fuel via credit and debit cards.”

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