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1952 days ago

Does Z Energy have a future?

Rhondda Sweetman from Plimmerton Rotary

Our guest speaker this week was Chris Durno, formerly of OPUS, the London Underground, and Kiwirail, and now chief strategist at Z Energy, where he has been for seven years. He is a personable Canterbury-trained engineer and therefore can turn his hand to anything, including finance, marketing and branding.
Z is a dominant player, and heavily invested, in the fuels industry. It imports, refines (via Marsden Point), stores, distributes and sells about 45% of fuels used in New Zealand. It has an unrivalled network of service stations, now including Caltex. It is going to great lengths to make its core business as efficient as possible.
Z is in a sector that has changed little in the last 100 years. The auto industry has traditionally been closely tied to the oil fuel sector. But change is coming: there is a drive towards renewable energy and electric vehicles. By the late 2020s EVs will be as cheap to buy and cheaper to run than internal combustion types. By 2040, 50% of annual sales and 40% of the national fleet will be EVs.
So the problem facing Z is that the demand for oil fuel, its core product, is falling. Fuel sales peaked in 2018 and have now entered a period of steady decline.
Z’s response is twofold: to increase its share of the declining fuel market, and to invest in new products and services outside its traditional core business.
Z will, for example, sell more coffee and give quicker service to forecourt customers. The ‘customer experience’ will improve.
More importantly, Z will start to invest outside its current position. Targets are ‘future fuels’, (biofuels, fuel cells etc), electricity trading (Z has bought Flick), and ‘mobility as a service’. Presumably the latter includes ride sharing and autonomous vehicles.
Z will have to reinvent itself to survive. This is a big challenge and they will face stiff competition from new and specialist players. Good luck!

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More messages from your neighbours
21 hours ago

Got a Minute? Prove You’re the Smartest Neighbour!

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

What is it that when given one, you’ll have either two or none?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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1 day ago

Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.

This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.

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Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
  • 84.5% Yes
    84.5% Complete
  • 14.1% No
    14.1% Complete
  • 1.4% Other - I'll share below
    1.4% Complete
1127 votes
13 hours ago

What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.

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