Dulux Trade Centre has made the decision to move its store from the CBD to a new location in South Lismore.

This relocation comes after dealing with the effects of the 2017 flood, flash flooding, and the floods in 2022, which has severely impacted their operations.

The Lismore App spoke with Phillip Kenrick, the Network Area Manager at DuluxGroup about the impact of the flood.

“When we eventually got to look at how much damage was there, it had obviously gone right through the roof, so all the suspended ceiling was just hanging by wires, so initially it was unsafe to work there,” he said.

“We contacted some contractors, and they couldn't get here for like three weeks, and so everything was just delayed… which turned out to be a good thing.”

“We were due to get a delivery of all new stuff, and then that week it flooded again, so luckily because of that delay with the contractors, it meant that we didn't have a lot of stock built back up yet.”

Dulux team during the cleanup following the flood. Photo supplied.

“In the background of all the cleaning, and reopening where we are, we were talking about the business and thinking how this has happened three times now, we really need to be thinking about things.”

“We looked at different options, and different areas, as you always do, and everyone in the business agreed that we want to in Lismore… we've got customers who have been with us for decades, and we want to continue to support the community.”

Through the clean-up of the business, DuluxGroup made a decision to donate their flood-impacted stock, as paint inside hadn’t been damaged.

“We knew that there were so many people who were going to try and rebuild, whether it be their personal home, or the business,” he said.

“So we just put a message out there and said just come grab whatever you want.”

“We wrote off about $140,000 worth of stock, and just kind of gave it away.”

“We’re lucky to have the backing of a big business like Dulux, but we know that there's a lot of people in the region that weren't as lucky… so the business actually made a number of donations.”

“This included $20,000 to the Lismore Flood Appeal… money to animal rescue… we bought $16,000 worth of shirts and we gave them out to all our customers… it totalled to about $80,000.”

The move to South Lismore represents a fresh start for Dulux Trade Centre, allowing them to continue serving the community while mitigating the ongoing risks associated with flooding.

The new store boasts modern facilities and a spacious showroom, offering an enhanced shopping experience for customers and providing a broader range of products and services.

“We are able to hold more capacity now, there’s all brand new counters, we got a business centre for our customers to sit down, have coffee, order their paint and just relax and have a have a chat with the boys,” Phillip said.

“Our aim was to be able to create the best paint store in the whole region.”

Dulux Trade Centre is open from today at 2/23 Krauss Ave, South Lismore. There will be a Grand Opening of the store on June 5, with a ribbon cutting, food, drinks and prizes.