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If I had to think of a suitable tagline for our
featured Coromandel couple Rachael and
Julian Lee, I would write ‘City boy meets small
town girl, they move to Whitianga and create a
thriving business’. However, there is a lot more
to it than that.
Julian and Rachael, who own the highly
successful Guthrie Bowron franchise in
Whitianga, have an intriguing backstory which
begins in Wellington with a garden spade. They
met for the first time when Julian was asked by
his mother to return the spade to Rachael, who
was then studying at Victoria University.
According to Rachael “he was the third son she
had sent across to meet me, so I just thought
uh-huh, here’s another one, took the spade and
closed the door”. However, a second meeting
some time later proved more promising, and in
short time Rachael cancelled her pending OE to
move up to Auckland to be with Julian.
Rachael, who grew up in Ohakune, has an
Architecture degree. She worked in Wellington and
Auckland for some highly regarded companies
on projects varying from high-end residential
houses to cinemas and light commercial buildings
to greenfield site developments. In her own words,
she is “used to working with the tradies, planners,
engineers and commercial developers”.
Julian, originally from Wellington, had earlier
gained a fine arts degree at Auckland University
(Elam), but after working in graphics for
several years decided to pursue a carpentry
qualification, being at heart “a practical boy”.
While in Auckland he became involved in the
building trade, and together they renovated and
built their own homes, with Rachael resigning
her heavily computer-dependent job (“due to
broken hands”) to become “a hammer hand –
nails, tools...you name it”.
THE PROMISE OF WHITIANGA
Although the couple had made sporadic visits
to Mercury Bay (“New Years with mates” says
Julian) these were always very brief, and it was
not until they spent a weekend in Matarangi
with Rachael’s aunt in 2005 that they were
able to look around. At that time building
was booming, the Waterways was under
development and they were inspired both by the
potential of Whitianga and the fact that unlike
the city, it was still possible to buy “a lot of
land”. Such is the quick decision-making ability
(or raw instinct!) of this couple that they bought
land in Whitianga within two weeks of this visit,
with plans for a design and build company.
However, with work commitments in Auckland
it wasn’t until two years later in 2007, when
an opportunity to buy the Guthrie Bowron
franchise presented itself, that Julian and
Rachael made the move to Whitianga, Rachael
persuading a more circumspect Julian that “we
could do this. I’m serious”.
With their respective backgrounds in design
and construction, Rachael and Julian were
in many ways ideally poised to take up the
challenge of buying into the Guthrie Bowron
franchise. However, neither had a sales
background or any experience in retail or
employment. “We knew about colour, plans,
and design”, says Julian, “but we didn’t know
how to approach customers”.
Since taking ownership in 2007, the couple
have built the business into the thriving interior
design and decorating enterprise that it is today
winning numerous awards along the way –
taking out top honours in the Guthrie Bowron
franchise two years in a row.
It is a credit to the couple that the Whitianga
store is not only the “flagship store for flooring
in the GB group, but also one of the highest
turnover GB franchises nationwide” – quite an
amazing achievement in a small town. This is
perhaps not surprising as Rachael and Julian’s
flair and initiative are abundantly evident
JULIAN & RACHAEL LEE
Guthrie Bowron | Whitianga
...continued on page 47
THEY HAVE IT
COVERED
by Kate Palmano
Flooring
Tiles
Paint
Wallpaper
Curtains
Blinds
Manchester
Home Decor
“We want decorating projects to get into
which will make a difference”, Rachael
says. They have donated carpet to the
toy library, paint for the community pool,
rugby club and communal mural.
This year they will again display a
‘charity’ Christmas tree, inviting the
public to add to the gifts. This proved
to be highly successful last year with
Rachael and Julian generously donating
gifts including “hampers specialised for
families”....distributed by St. Andrews
by the Sea.
Look for their
GIVING BY GIFTING
charity Christmas
gift drive again
this December!
Giving back to the community