About the late Sir Roger Bhatnagar
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Rajeshwar (anglicised to Roger) Bhatnagar originally hailed from New Delhi, born there in October 1942. His interest in electronics and mechanics saw him travel the world in his younger adult years. He eventually settled on Canada where the economy had opportunities, and where he started a family, marrying a New Zealander in 1974.
In 1980, the Bhatnagar family moved to New Zealand. Leveraging his time in electronics retail in British Columbia, he started his own small electronics retail business on Commerce Street in Auckland called Sound Plus. Over the 1980s, Sound Plus grew to nine stores across Auckland and Hamilton and became known for aggressive discounting and innovative marketing. In 1991, with the help of Fisher and Paykel Finance, Roger bought the Noel Leeming electronics retail chain from receivers of Smiths City Group. After turning the business around, Roger and his team floated Noel Leeming on the NZX in 1993 and the company experienced considerable growth. In 1995, the business merged with competitor Bond and Bond Ltd to create "Pacific Retail Group", which was New Zealand's largest electronics retail business. His interests in Pacific Retail Group were bought out in 1999, and he became a passive investor. Roger also was the cornerstone investor in Burger King New Zealand in 1994 (exiting in 1996), and was also involved in a number of commercial and residential property projects around Auckland. Following his success, Roger engaged in philanthropy, supported NZ sports, and enjoyed the collecting of beautiful objects. Pride of place in his collection for a number of years was a McLaren F1 road car, the first to arrive in New Zealand in 1994. He also loved recreational fishing in the Hauraki Gulf on his boat "Enigma". Roger deeply enjoyed his friendships with New Zealand and overseas sports players, especially in the semi-professional days of NZ cricket in the 1980s, supporting a number of top NZ sportsmen with jobs, sponsorship and testimonial benefits. In 2017, Sir Roger's cricket memorabilia collection was displayed at Auckland Cricket. You can read more about Sir Roger Bhatnagar's cricket memorabilia collection here. He was knighted by the government for services to business and charities in the 1998 Queens Birthday Honours. With the onset of poor health, Sir Roger retired from business in 2008, and he passed away in November 2022. Click here to read the family announcement and the NZ Herald ad. NZ Media also covered his passing at the NZ Herald and Indian Newslink. |
Investiture, 1998
Sitting in his McLaren F1, 1994
Sports memorabilia, 1996
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