Paint by Numbers at Spotlight NZ, Whitcoulls and Reeves: Honest Comparison

Spotlight, Whitcoulls, and Reeves all sell paint by numbers in New Zealand. What you give up at each one compared to a dedicated kit is worth knowing before you buy.

If you have searched for paint by numbers at Spotlight NZ or Whitcoulls, you have probably noticed the range is wider than Kmart or The Warehouse but still limited in ways that matter. Spotlight carries Reeves and Craftsmart branded kits with a more established art pedigree than supermarket craft sets. Whitcoulls stocks a small selection including some NZ-themed designs. Reeves is the brand itself, available through Spotlight and a handful of other craft retailers. This guide covers what each option actually gives you, where the limitations are, and what a dedicated paint by numbers kit offers that none of them do.

Spotlight Paint by Numbers NZ

Spotlight is the strongest in-store paint by numbers option in New Zealand for buyers who want something above the Kmart tier. Their range includes Reeves-branded kits alongside their own Craftsmart label, typically on a 12x16 inch canvas (approximately 30x40cm), with a wider design selection than most mass-market retailers. Spotlight also stocks Reeves acrylic paints, brushes, and other art supplies separately, which means a Spotlight kit sits in a more legitimate art supply context than a kit from a supermarket or discount retailer.

The limits are the same as any retail paint by numbers: fixed designs, no size upgrade, no colour count choice, and no custom photo option. The Reeves Sunset Glow kit, for example, is a 12x16 inch canvas with a pre-set landscape design and a fixed paint set. You get what is on the shelf. Spotlight runs regular sales and discount events, so prices vary, but expect to pay $20 to $40 NZD for a standard adult kit depending on the current promotion.

Whitcoulls Paint by Numbers NZ

Whitcoulls carries a small but genuinely interesting paint by numbers range. The most distinctive thing about their selection is the inclusion of NZ-themed kits: Kereru, Wanaka Tree, and Cathedral Cove are three current examples, alongside more generic designs like European Street Cafe and Cottage Garden. If you want a kit specifically themed around a New Zealand subject, Whitcoulls is one of the few retailers in the country that stocks them.

The practical limitation is that Whitcoulls is primarily a books and stationery retailer. Paint by numbers is a side category for them, which means the range is small, stock varies by location, and not all products shown on their website are held in store. Some items are sourced directly from suppliers to fill online orders, so delivery times can vary. If a specific Whitcoulls kit catches your attention, it is worth checking in-store availability before relying on the website stock level.

Reeves Paint by Numbers NZ

Reeves is not a store but a brand. It is one of the older established names in art supplies, originally a UK company, and its paint by numbers kits are sold through Spotlight and a handful of other craft retailers across New Zealand. Reeves kits tend to be a step above the most basic craft store sets in terms of paint quality and canvas print clarity, which is why they appear in dedicated art supply sections rather than the craft corner of a general retailer.

The canvas size on most Reeves NZ kits is 12x16 inches (approximately 30x40cm), smaller than the standard 40x50cm adult kit. Design options are limited to whatever Spotlight happens to be stocking at the time. There is no custom option and no ability to choose a larger canvas or a higher colour count. If you have seen Reeves paint by numbers reviewed positively, it is usually because the paints themselves are decent quality relative to generic import brands, not because the range or customisation options are broad.

How They Compare

When a Retail Kit Is the Right Call

A Spotlight or Whitcoulls kit makes sense in two specific situations. The first is if you want to try the hobby for the first time before committing to a more expensive kit and you are not fussed about the specific design. The Reeves range at Spotlight is a reasonable entry point for exactly this purpose. The second is if you specifically want a NZ-themed design: Whitcoulls is currently one of the only retailers stocking Kereru and Wanaka Tree kits, and if those subjects matter to you, the retail option is a legitimate choice.

Where retail kits stop being the right choice is the moment you have a specific design, a larger canvas, a particular colour count, or a photo you want painted. None of those things are available at Spotlight, Whitcoulls, or through the Reeves range at any NZ retailer. See our Kmart and Warehouse comparison for how budget retail kits compare at the lower end of the market.

What a Dedicated Kit Adds

A dedicated kit tells you the exact canvas size, colour count, and frame option before you buy. Retail kits rarely disclose all three.

The standard adult kit from a dedicated paint by numbers supplier starts at $49 NZD for a 40x50cm canvas without a frame, which is larger than the typical Spotlight or Reeves kit at a comparable price. More importantly, the kit page tells you exactly what is in the box before you buy: canvas size, colour count, paint pot count, frame option, and canvas material. That transparency is rare at retail level, where product pages often describe contents simply as "canvas, paints, and brushes" with no further detail.

The custom kit option, which lets you upload any photo and have it turned into a numbered canvas by a real artist, starts from $56 NZD and is not available at any NZ retail store regardless of price. If a pet portrait, family photo, wedding image, or NZ landscape you actually photographed yourself is what you want to paint, the only way to get it is through a dedicated online kit. Our custom paint by numbers NZ guide covers how that process works.

Common Questions

About the Author

William Murdock is the Founder of Paint On Numbers. He checked what Spotlight, Whitcoulls, and Reeves actually stock before writing this comparison, so the details here reflect real products and real prices rather than assumptions.