DeLuxe Group Limited

General information

Company History
DeLuxe is a name which dates back to the 1920's when Reo DeLuxe Motors was formed to operate the Blenheim to Picton and local suburban bus services in Blenheim.

The Smith Family purchased DeLuxe in 1972. Brad and Phyl Smith moved the family from Woodend for new beginnings. The company took small steps through the 70's growing its school bus fleet as the wider Marlborough population grew with the birth of the Marlborough Wine Industry.

It was through the early 80's when Greg and Gary joined the business that the company started to fledge into the tourism business. Gaining a major contract with tour operator "Kirra Tours" in 1984 meant several new coaches were built and a small change of direction took place. In 1989 DeLuxe had the opportunity to forge ahead in a business partnership to purchase Kirra Tours - based in Adelaide Australia.

It was in 1991 when the Smith Family purchased the Blenheim Country Lodge Hotel. At the time is was Marlborough's leading Tourism and Corporate Hotel however it was in desperate need of capital investment and lots of love. The business soon turned around and refurbishments took place over several years. Through the 90's between DeLuxe Travel Line and the Blenheim Country Lodge Hotel we employed over 90 staff in Blenheim alone. The hotel was sold to Scenic Circle in 2002 and the Smith Family were ready for new challenges.

It was 2003 and we were ready to try something new and exciting. The DeLuxe Property Division was born with the purchase of land in Bary Street which was to become our first development "Covent Gardens". Also in 2003 the Smith Family purchased the half finished Marlborough Ridge development which had been stagnant for a number of years. Today after many years of investment and hard work both Covent Gardens and Marlborough Ridge give testament to top quality residential areas all Marlburians can be proud of.

2004 saw another major change in direction. DeLuxe Travel Line our bus and coach operating business was sold to Ritchie's Transport Holdings. We had gone from 95 employees down to 5 in a matter of 1 year. Gary had forged ahead with a new venture where we were importing motor vehicles from Japan and specialising in Buses and Coaches. It was soon after the sale to Ritchie's that the land was purchased for the Nottinghill Subdivision.

2009 saw us exit Kirra Tours and exit the tourism and hospitality industry. Further land was purchased for future developments. It was around this time that the Government changed emissions regulations and it became difficult to import buses and coaches. For this reason our Blenheim Sales Yard took on quite a different look and feel as we experimented with the importation of cars, light commercials and trucks. We soon discovered that this was not where our passion was and we started to get more into recreation vehicles such as Motorhomes and Caravans.

Today we are Agents for Bailey Caravans, Dethleffs Caravans, Winnebago Motorhomes, Pilote Motorhomes and Talvor Motorhomes. We also purchase Apollo Rental stock and convert them ready for the NZ freedom camping market.

This is where our passion lies as we help people transform peoples lives from their hectic working schedule with very little leisure time to exploring New Zealand and wondering why it took so long to find the time.