The grand opening at 117 Queen St was held at 6am, with the first customer on the forecourt just ten seconds later and one million more customers expected through the doors over the next 12 months.
BP Head of Retail Frank van Hattum said the company was excited to bring an upgraded offer into the area.
“We always aim to make the BP customer experience better than they can get anywhere else and we invested here because we think the local community deserves the best.
“BP won’t cut corners on quality – that applies to both our products and our service. We take pride in our quality products and our fantastic people.
“It’s great that our new store enables us to bring additional employment opportunities to the area with up to 20 positions available, but it’s really fantastic to see a number of familiar faces transitioning across from the old store as well,” he said.
The 24-hour operation has wide lanes for easy access, ample parking, a carwash and four fuels across every pump; Unleaded 91, Premium 95, Ultimate 98 and Diesel.
BP Connect Richmond customers can also benefit from BP’s brand new, best ever dirt-busting BP Ultimate 98 fuel that was launched just last week after five years of research and testing.
BP Ultimate fuel now contains ACTIVE technology – a unique formulation that is designed to actively fight dirt, protect against dirt build-up and help engines run as the manufacturer intended.“
But it’s not just our quality fuel that sets us apart from the rest…with a Wild Bean Cafe offering comfortable seating, free WIFI, free newspapers to read while you are waiting and updated bathrooms, we’re providing a one-stop shops for locals.
“Wild Bean Cafe is also the number one retailer of barista-made coffee in New Zealand and has been serving Fairtrade Certified coffee since 2008.
“We want to share our great Fairtrade coffee with the people of Nelson so they can see, or rather taste, what all the fuss is about.
“Our Richmond customers can also take home our used coffee grinds and use them in their gardens,” he said.
The new BP Connect store will be added to the company’s national carwash program that recycled more than 70 million litres of carwash water in the past 12 months alone – an initiative that other retailers are yet to implement to this level or scale.
BP has also invested in bright energy efficient LED lighting to reduce the site’s power consumption and has installed heat pump technology that allows exhaust heat from air conditioning and refrigeration plants to be recycled and used to heat the building’s water, delivering a sustainable and cost-effective solution.
As the lucky recipient of this year’s BP Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB), Nelson Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) was on-site for the grand opening today, showing off their brand new IRB and collecting donations.
Club President Marcus Gardner said he was thrilled that the Club could be involved in the store opening and was extremely grateful for the new BP IRB because their old one had been “pushed to its limit”.
"We are involved in a lot of call-outs around the Nelson-Tasman region so IRBs really are an essential part of our lifesaving armoury,” he said.
“Our old IRB has taken quite a battering over the years, so this new one will make a huge difference.
“It really means a lot; not only to the club, but to the entire community and we wanted to bring it along today to show it off to locals because it’s as much theirs as it is ours.
“BP has been a partner of Surf Life Saving New Zealand, and of our Club, for 48 years so it’s only fitting that we would be here to celebrate with them today.
“I must admit, our Clubbies are pretty keen to test out their famous Wild Bean Cafe pies too,” Gardner said.
BP 2go Haven Road is planned to undergo a similar transformation later in the year.
BP has owned these sites for more than 25 years and said they needed significant investment to bring them up to scratch, so the company decided to invest a bit more and convert them to a full BP Connect offer.
Contact: bp ANZ Media team
Phone: 0800 800 027
Email: bppressANZ@bp.com