Independent Timber Merchants or the Independent Timber Merchants Society (usually shortened as ITM) is a New Zealand co-operative of independent building supplies and hardware retailers. Its stores sell a range of products to both tradespeople and consumers, including

building supplies Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man ...

power tools A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed ...

kitchens A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

and

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

. The co-operative is the largest group of independent trade merchants in New Zealand. It is the second largest supplier of timber to the New Zealand building industry after

Fletcher Building Fletcher Building Limited is one of the largest listed companies in New Zealand, with a market capitalisation of nearly NZ$4 billion. The company was split from Fletcher Challenge in 2001, formerly New Zealand's largest business and multin ...

subsidiary

PlaceMakers PlaceMakers is the trading name of Fletcher Distribution Limited, the retail trading arm of Fletcher Building in New Zealand. PlaceMakers also manufactures wall frames, roof trusses and structural components at various frame and truss operations ...

. There are 95 ITM member stores around New Zealand, including 16 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

History

1990s

The Independent Timber Merchants Society was formed in 1991, with six founding stores in the

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

. The society was registered as a company in 1993. In 1999, there were 89 ITM stores around the country.

2000s

In 2003, there were 80 ITM stores.

2010s

Picton ITM experienced a downturn in demand for building supplies following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It responded in 2013 by expanding into the production of steel framing for clients in Canterbury and around the country, including schools. In 2019, there were 94 ITM stores. The timber yard at the Kopu store near

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

was gutted by fire in November 2019. No one was injured in the fire.

2020s

In mid-2020 a cat who had been living in the Marton store for ten years disappeared for several months. The

SPCA A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate in ...

investigated reports the store manager had abandoned the cat in the countryside after it became a nuisance. The cat was relocated to

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. Th ...

before disappearing again. In February 2021, a new ITM franchisee opened in Dunedin. In March 2021,

Carter Holt Harvey __NOTOC__ Carter Holt Harvey Limited is a privately-owned New Zealand-based company controlled by Rank Group Limited, the corporate vehicle of the country's richest man, Graeme Hart. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the company has three main divi ...

stopped selling structural timber to ITM due to a global timber shortage, leaving member stores short of stock. Some builders were affected, while some were able to source their timber from other sources instead. ITM criticised Carter Holt Harvey's decision to continue supplying timber to its rival PlaceMakers. By May, builders were waiting six months for building supplies; the owner of the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne ITM stores blamed the closure of

sawmills A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

coinciding with a rapid growth in the construction sector. In September 2021, one person was injured when a Stratford ITM truck rolled outside Stratford. In March 2022,

sought clearance from the

Commerce Commission The Commerce Commission ( mi, Te Komihana Tauhokohoko) is a New Zealand government agency with responsibility for enforcing legislation that relates to competition in the country's markets, fair trading and consumer credit contracts, and regul ...

to purchase Tumu Merchants Limited, including a timber plant in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...

and ITM stores in Gisborne, Napier,

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( " work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ma ...

and

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

. At the time, Fletcher already owned a timber plant in

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wai ...

and ITM rival

. In July, the Commission cleared the purchase after the stores left the ITM group. In its determination, the Commission stated there would still be local competition and ITM would still have a significant network of stores in New Zealand.

Sponsorships

ITM has purchased the naming rights for sports events, including the NPC rugby tournament, Auckland SuperSprint motorsport event, and Hamilton 400 motorsport event. ITM has sponsored the TV3 and

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

fishing programme ''ITM Fishing Show'', which featured on

The Late Show With David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

. It also sponsored the 2017

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only way ...

reboot ''ITM Hook Me up!''. The Independent Timber Merchants Society sponsors a regional apprenticeship competition in 20 locations around the country. The first round of the competition was held in 2022.

References

External links

Official website
{{Retailers in New Zealand Home improvement companies of New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 1991 Retail companies established in 1991