Daniel Ford is the owner-operator of three Night ‘n Day’s in Auckland - Takanini, Grey Lynn and Onehunga. The Grey Lynn and Onehunga stores opened this year and are the company’s first stand-alone sites in Auckland. With Ford’s new stores, Night ‘n Day hopes to develop a loyal customer base in the North Island to match that in the South.
“When I decided to take the leap of faith two years ago, I didn’t predict the timing of the stores opening and the extent of all the external pressures (labour, supply chain etc.) on business owners that have been incredibly hard to manage. I’m optimistic that I have partnered with a brand that is true to its family values and that two years into the journey, we are on the precipice of becoming an overnight hit in Auckland,” said Ford.
Ford grew up in Rotorua on his parents’ sheep and beef farm. After finishing high school, he left to live and work in the UK, then returned home to study PE teaching at the University of Waikato. During his time at uni, Ford started a personal training business that morphed into an online training one, which allowed him to spend a ski season in Canada. The snow was calling, so he worked as a PT and ski instructor in Wanaka before returning to university for a Bachelor of Science in human nutrition.
The ability to deliver for customers is something that he values. During his return to university in Otago, Ford discovered the Night ‘n Day brand as a customer and worked as a checkout operator at Countdown. He was able to move into a department manager role and complete the Countdown Graduate Training Programme, all the while developing his love for FMCG.
“I always wanted to be my own boss and challenge myself to build a future for my family. That is why I started looking for ownership opportunities in the sector. Eventually, I settled with Night ‘n Day due to its strong kiwi values and being a family business.”
Ford described the process of opening two new stores as exciting, stressful and fun at the same time. There was plenty of learning about construction project management, getting things done efficiently, hiring staff, and setting up reliable systems and processes to train and support them. Great in-store leaders and franchise support meant the additional challenges presented to new builds by lockdowns and covid restrictions always had a solution.
A typical day at Night ‘n Day means an early wake-up call. Ford checks his morning teams and follows up with admin before planning the rest of the day. Typically, he visits a store to help with day-to-day operations, training staff or filling gaps, and helping wherever is needed. He then repeats the process at his second and third stores, making for a very busy day.
“When I can, I try to get out of the store and connect with local schools, businesses and organisations to see how we can support each other and the local community.”
Ford believes that community is a real difference for Night ‘n Day; it is open longer hours, has a variety of products, and is locally owned and operated by people who care about their communities. Whether it be running out of toilet paper, milk or baby wipes, needing a coffee before work or late-night ice cream, the stores are there until 11 pm.
Ford sees the community aspect of Night ‘n Day stores in stand-alone and petrol-connected sites. Customers at the stand-alone stores come in for the best thick shake in town or a coffee, so the product is the destination item. Night ‘n Day is usually a secondary purchase for the petrol sites. When petrol is cheaper, the stores get busier and vice versa.
“Fortunately, we have grown a loyal Night ‘n Day fan base at my petrol site and have regulars who wouldn’t get their coffee anywhere else - which is nice to hear!”
When it comes to concerns in the convenience industry, Ford has all the expected ones: ram raids, grocery wholesale and smoke-free NZ. He said it would be naive not to be concerned about ram raids, although there are strong security and alarm systems alongside fog cannons at all of his sites. There was an early morning break-in at one site, but the offenders only took some chocolate bars and were detained by police, thanks to the security systems. Grocery wholesale is a struggle for everyone at the moment, but new regulations hope to change this, and for tobacco sales, Ford is optimistic that Night ‘n Day will not have to rely on it in the future.
“It takes many people to make these ventures work, and we are breaking ground in Auckland. I am incredibly grateful that I have the support of the franchise, my awesome staff, business mentors, my family, and partner Stef in varying capacities both personally and professionally.”
