Top store: Brisbane goes wild for SA-made choccies
Haigh’s first Queensland store launch saw chocolate lovers lining up for hours to grab a bag of speckles.
South Australia-based Haigh’s Chocolates has hit the target in Queensland, with its first Brisbane store going gangbusters after its official opening on August 28.
Speaking at a packed Pitcher Partners lunch on Wednesday afternoon at Adelaide’s SkyCity casino, Haigh’s joint managing director Simon Haigh said that within a week of its opening, the Brisbane outlet was “the top store in Australia”.
The Westfield Mt Gravatt store – on level two next to MECCA – is the first Haigh’s retail shop in Queensland adding to 23 nationwide.
Lovers of the high-end South Australian-made chocolate famous for its frogs, speckles and specialist truffles, turned out in droves, with people queuing from 7.30 am ahead of the 11 am opening time with queues stretching into Friday and Saturday.
Haigh said the Brisbane store was the first of three set to open in Queensland, following a major expansion of its manufacturing capabilities with the opening of Haigh’s $120 million chocolate factory in Salisbury, SA.
That factory is now one year old, meaning “we’ve got the room for doing our expansions”, according to Haigh.
You might like
“Plus, we’re looking at other sites around Australia: Melbourne, Sydney. But Queensland was the big focus of this year,” he said.
The decision to open a store in Brisbane was driven by strong demand online from Queenslanders, Haigh told InDaily.
“It was a huge hit,” Haigh said, “It knocked off every store in Australia.
“Now it’s settled down, but there was pent-up demand from Queenslanders.”
As part of the expansion into Queensland, Haigh’s has employed 75 more people to support the growing network of stores. Some new staff were brought on board for the opening of the Salisbury South facility last year to support future growth plans.
Stay informed, daily
Haigh’s now employs more than 900 people across its factory and retail network of stores located in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and online.
Iconic SA corner set for restoration
Meanwhile, restoration work has commenced on one of Adelaide’s most iconic corners that houses Haigh’s Rundle Mall store.
Scaffolding is going up this week at Beehive Corner at the intersection of Rundle Mall and King William Street, with works being done to refresh the building’s original signage.
This would include restoring the lights on the retro Haigh’s Chocolates sign right on the corner.
Haigh’s CEO Peter Millard said the work was a chance to bring back a “much-loved piece of Adelaide’s streetscape”.
“Beehive Corner has watched over this city for 130 years, and seeing the sign lit up again will bring back even more magic to this heritage landmark,” Millard said.
“We can’t wait for everyone to see it shine.”
Works were expected to be completed by the end of October.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
