SolutionsRetail & Wholesale

Retail and wholesale.

Retail and wholesale operations rarely run one type of space. There's a distribution centre or back-of-store, a goods-in area, and often a trade counter with customers walking through it. The equipment has to work across all three without being over-specified for any of them.

MHS supplies forklifts, order pickers and pallet trucks to retailers, wholesalers and distributors across New Zealand.

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What do retail and wholesale operations need from a forklift?

The right-sized machine, not the biggest one.

Utilisation here is usually lower than in logistics, and a large counterbalance sitting idle most of the day is expensive in ways that don't appear on the purchase invoice. Pedestrian stackers and powered pallet trucks handle a surprising share of retail work at a fraction of the running cost.

Safe operation around people.

Trade counters, click-and-collect and back-of-store areas mean forklifts and pedestrians share space. Speed limiting, blue spot lights, audible warnings and good visibility stop being optional in that environment.

Equipment that's quick to learn.

Retail has higher staff turnover than most sectors. Machines that are straightforward to operate and train on reduce both risk and the time lost getting new staff productive.

A way to handle peaks.

Christmas, seasonal ranges and promotional periods can double throughput for a few weeks. Buying a fleet sized for December means paying for it all year. Short-term hire is usually the better answer.

Forklift mast with MHS portal QR code in a warehouse

How we specify retail and wholesale equipment

Actual utilisation: how many hours a machine really runsSpace constraints in goods-in, back-of-store and DCPedestrian and customer trafficSeasonal peaks and whether they justify owning or hiringRange of load sizes, including anything oversizedOperator experience and turnover

Forklifts for retail and wholesale

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Order pickers→

Electric pallet trucks→

Walk behind stackers→

Supporting retail and wholesale across New Zealand

MHS supplies material handling equipment to retail chains and distribution centres, wholesale distributors, furniture and whiteware retailers, trade and hardware suppliers, and e-commerce fulfilment operations.

Every machine we supply is backed by MHS parts and technicians, with scheduled servicing and breakdown support from Auckland and Christchurch. Short-term hire is available for seasonal peaks.

Talk to our team Rent or lease options