Bammas ready for tide to change

A retail team at one of Mangawhai’s iconic shops, Bammas, owned by David and Mariska Glover, say they have dealt with the recent restrictions by ‘bunkering down’ and ‘focusing on a brighter day’.

“To be fair, the worry of when that day might be again has been at times consuming,” Mariska says. “In the midst of all of this we had to reinvent ourselves into an online presence, with stalled and congested supply lines. But we got ourselves online within a week and if anything shows that Bammas has the aroha and spirit within it to keep fighting.”

Besides having concerns with fixed costs combined with aging creditor liabilities, a worry for any small business, Mariska says they feel very lucky to have support from their landlord, staff wages ‘being taken off us allowing for a bit of breathing room' and ‘to date understanding creditors’.

“We are unsure of what level 2.1 will mean for retail, and or what the new normal may become,” she says. “But the Bammas whanau know what Mangawhai's little surf shop means to the community and we are determined to brush ourselves off and keep facing the challenges ahead with our little mangas team of 4000 or so.”