The Warehouse Group (TWG) was established by

Stephen Tindall Sir Stephen Robert Tindall (born May 1951) is the founder of New Zealand retailer The Warehouse, The Warehouse Group, and the Tindall Foundation. Early life and education Tindall attended Bayswater Primary School then Takapuna Grammar School and ...

in 1982 and is the largest retail group in operation in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It is a corporate conglomerate that consists of The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery and Noel Leeming.

History

The first Warehouse Group store opened in Wairau Road North Shore,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1982. In 1994, Warehouse was added to the

New Zealand Exchange New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. , the NZX had a total of 179 listed securiti ...

under the symbol TWH. In 1996, a distribution center opened on the North Island. In 2000, it was added to the

NZSE New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. , the NZX had a total of 179 listed securiti ...

10 index. The group acquired

Clint's Crazy Bargains Clint's Crazy Bargains was established in November 1978, as a partnership between David and Kerry Rickards, and Norm and Sue O'Neill. It was a retailer of discount variety merchandise including gifts, cosmetics, clothing, books, craft goods, har ...

and Silly Solly's in Australia that same year. In 2003, the Warehouse Australia brand was launched. In 2005, a lab store was launched in the Hamilton suburb of

Te Rapa Te Rapa is a mixed light industrial, large-scale retail and semi-rural suburb to the northwest of Hamilton Central, central Hamilton, New Zealand. It is built on a flat area that was previously the bed of an ancient river, the forerunner to the ...

. That same year, the Warehouse brand was relaunched with new lower-case logo, announced its plan to enter the liquor market and that it would end operations in Australia by Christmas. In 2005, Warehouse Australia was sold to Catalyst Investment Managers and

Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners Castle Harlan is a private equity firm based in New York City. The company focuses on buyouts and growth capital investments in middle-market companies across a range of industries. Founded in 1987, Castle Harlan invests in controlling interests ...

for A$92 million (NZ$99m). In 2006, the Warehouse began selling alcoholic beverages in selected stores and launched a new set of stores branded The Warehouse Extra at

Sylvia Park Sylvia Park is a large business park and shopping centre in the Auckland suburb of Mount Wellington in New Zealand. Less commonly known, the area around the centre (which includes some residential and other commercial developments) is also c ...

, Auckland, which included full grocery as well as pharmacies, cafés, and bakeries. At the time, the stores were considered an unproven experiment and many viewed them as an emulation of the American

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

model. However, due to supply chain issues, The Warehouse Extra stores were closed in 2009. In 2007, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary and marked the occasion by releasing 13,000 balloons, causing concerns from environmentalists. In 2009, the first smaller-concept store, The Warehouse Local, opened in

Mosgiel Mosgiel () is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area. Mosgiel has a p ...

. In 2010, the Warehouse opened a store in

Gisborne, New Zealand Gisborne is a List of cities in New Zealand, city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of Gisborne District Council has its headquarters in the central city. ...

, the first large format store since the opening of The Warehouse Sylvia Park in 2006. In 2012, The Warehouse ceased its instore pharmacy offer. Later that year, The Warehouse announced it was buying the electronics retailer The Noel Leeming Group for $65 million. In 2013, The Warehouse Group held a one-day online-only sale across all brands in the group called Click Madness. During that same year, the company purchased Torpedo7, No. 1 Fitness, Shotgun Supplements, Insight Traders, and Shop HQ, the latter of which included the online pet retailer, pet.co.nz, and the online baby product company, baby.co.nz. In 2014, The Warehouse Group bought R&R Sport and SchoolTex. That same year, the company launched The Warehouse Group Financial Services after the takeover of Diners Club NZ. In 2014, the group purchased the New Zealand-based branches of Australian retail chain The Good Guys, turning their five New Zealand-based stores into their various retail brands. In July 2017, The Warehouse Group announced that it intended to sell the Financial Services division that it had acquired in 2014 to

SBS Bank SBS Bank is a New Zealand registered bank which was founded in 1869. In October 2008 it gained bank registration and the Southland Building Society became SBS Bank. It is a fully New Zealand-owned registered bank that has retained a mutual bu ...

for a reported $18 million by September. In 2018, the group purchased the Appliance Shed brand to create the Noel Leeming Clearance Centre brand. In 2019, the company launched TheMarket, a new online marketplace selling local and international brands. In June 2020, The Warehouse Group announced that 1,080 jobs would be lost as a result of the economic effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zeala ...

. The company also announced that it would be closing down six stores including The Warehouse stores in Whangaparaoa, Johnsonville,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, the Warehouse Stationery in

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...

, and the Noel Leeming stores in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

and

Tokoroa Tokoroa is the fourth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua and 20 km south of Putāruru, close to the foot of th ...

. On 20 July 2020, the company's COO Pejman Okhovat announced that between 500 and 750 jobs may be lost due to a proposed restructuring of the company.

First Union First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial bank, commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the Eastern United States, eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, incl ...

general secretary Dennis Maga criticized the company for using COVID-19 as an excuse to lay off hundreds of workers and to reduce the incomes of thousands of employees. On 21 December, The Warehouse Group announced that it was in a "confident enough position" to repay its NZ$67.8 million COVID-19 wage subsidy to the Government. From early 2021, all Warehouse stores across the country stopped selling physical media including DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs, and Vinyl Records. In May 2021, The Warehouse Group announced that fireworks would no longer be sold at The Warehouse stores. Jewellery counters also began to close in July 2021. Since 2023 The Warehouse has been trialling selling fresh fruit and vegetables. In late 2023, Sanitarium stopped supplying The Warehouse with

Weet-Bix Weet-Bix is a whole-grain wheat breakfast cereal created and manufactured in Australia and New Zealand by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and in South Africa by Bokomo. History Weet-Bix was developed by Bennison Osborne in Sydney, ...

due to alleged supply issues. The Warehouse asked the

Commerce Commission The Commerce Commission () (sometimes shortened to ComCom) is a New Zealand government agency with responsibility for enforcing legislation that relates to competition in the country's markets, fair trading and consumer credit contracts, and r ...

to investigate, and Sanitarium revoked the move the following week. In March 2024 the Commission said that it was "not clear that Sanitarium breach d... the Commerce Act" and that it would not "prioritize the matter for further investigation". As a result, chief executive Grayston said he was "very disappointed". In February 2024, The Warehouse Group sold Torpedo7 for $1 to Tahua Partners.

Business

The Warehouse operates discount retail department stores selling a broad range of non-grocery and grocery products. As of January 2015, The Warehouse employed over 12,000 people in New Zealand. The Warehouse's corporate headquarters are located in

North Shore, New Zealand The North Shore ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is defined as the northern shores of the Waitematā Harbour as far north as the Ōkura River. The North Shore is primaril ...

. The company operates from over 240 retail locations, as well as two distribution centers located in

Wiri Wiri is a mostly industrial-commercial focused suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formerly part of Manukau City until the merger of all of Auckland's councils into the ' super city' in 2010. The area was named after the chief Takaanini W ...

and in

Rolleston, New Zealand Rolleston () is the seat and largest town in the Selwyn District, in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the Canterbury Plains south-west of Christchurch, and is part of the wider Gre ...

, and 13 online stores. In addition to its operations, it owns various brand names that are located within the stores. It has gardening facilities located in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Along with its gardening brand Just, it also operates nearly 30 in-company brands. The Warehouse is publicly traded on the New Zealand Stock Exchange with the security code WHS (previously TWH).

Criticism

In May 2007, the company released 13,000 balloons from

Dairy Flat Dairy Flat is a northern rural district located 8 km south of Orewa in the North Island of New Zealand and 28 km north of central Auckland. Until the early 1990s most of the district was in dairy farms of 40 to 60 hectares (100 to 150 a ...

to mark its 25th anniversary. This sparked concerns from the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and other environmentalists as the balloons had been known to endanger wildlife. In December 2009, it was announced that The Warehouse staff would be taking industrial action due to issues with staff having their hours extended to 50-hour weeks in the lead-up to Christmas and staff having to work late at night. In December 2018, Noel Leeming was fined $200,000 for misleading consumers about their rights under the

Consumer Guarantees Act The Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) 1993 is a consumer protection law that was enacted in New Zealand in 1993. Consumer protections were previously in the Sale of Goods Act 1908. Differences over the Sales of Goods Act One of the CGA's bigge ...

(CGA) following a

prosecution. Noel Leeming was convicted on eight charges under the Fair Trading Act. In March 2020, The Warehouse Group drew criticism when its directors prematurely announced that they were an essential service during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

without consulting with the Government. The company faced a fine of NZ$500,000 if it was found to have breached the

's disclosure rules or found to have profited from a rise in its share price stemming from the announcement. The company subsequently shut down its brands for the duration of the four-week lockdown with all staff being given full paid leave. In early June 2020, The Warehouse Group was criticized by First Union coordinator Kate Davis for allegedly not consulting employees about a plan to lay off 1,080 workers and close six stores as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Return policy

The company operates a comprehensive returns policy. A "60-day money-back guarantee" policy with returns accepted for any reason is available on most products, excluding

underwear Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled ...

, pre-recorded media, and

perishable Decomposition is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is esse ...

products.

Australian expansion

In 2000, the company entered the Australian retail market. It acquired the Clint's Crazy Bargains and Silly Solly's retail chains. At the time of purchase, those chains had around 117 stores. In 2003, the company built a $33 million (AUD) distribution centre in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to service the country. Later that year, the company introduced its Tui and Tolas inventory management systems from New Zealand. As of 2005, the Australian arm was still under-performing. Sales for 2005 were at $518.8 million (AUD) compared with $567.3 million (AUD) in 2004. The Warehouse Group Limited announced in November 2005 that it had entered into a conditional agreement to sell The Warehouse Australia business to Catalyst Investment Managers and its parent PPM Capital Limited (together, Catalyst) and

, acting on behalf of the CHAMP I and CHAMP II funds (CHAMP) for A$92 million (NZ$99m). The new entity was known as

Australian Discount Retail DSG Holdings Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Discount Superstores Group was a discount variety retailer in Australia, formed in 2013 following the liquidation of former company Retail Adventures. It owned the Sam's Warehouse and Crazy Clark's brand ...

(ADR). As part of the transaction, The Warehouse Australia's

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Head Office would be sold to Investec Wentworth Specialised Property Trust. While the effective date for the transaction was due to be 27 November 2005, completion of the sale was expected in early 2006 and was subject to normal regulatory approvals. At its formation, ADR also purchased the discount store operations of

Miller's Retail City Chic Collective (CCC), founded as Miller's Retail in 1992, and rebranded in December 2006 to Specialty Fashion Group, is an Australian retail clothing company. It is headquartered in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria. , the company operates ...

, including the

Go-Lo Go-Lo was a chain of Australian discount variety stores with hundreds of stores throughout Australia. It was part of the largest discount retailer group in Australia. It was owned by Jan Cameron's Retail Adventures along with Sam's Warehouse, ...

Crazy Clark's Crazy Clark's Discount Variety Store was an Australian company that operated over 150 discount variety stores in its chain, across Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia. The company also owned and operated a cha ...

and Chickenfeed chains. There were 335 such stores at the time of sale. After the sale of the Australian operation, Warehouse stores were renamed

Sam's Warehouse Sam's Warehouse was an Australian brand of discount retail stores, similar to Crazy Clark's. It was founded in 2008 after The Warehouse sold its Australian operations to Australian Discount Retail, and the stores were required to be re-brande ...

. The operations soon had massive wall-to-wall administrations and management changes culminating in widespread closures, divestments to rivals like

The Reject Shop The Reject Shop is an Australian discount variety store chain selling a range of goods such as food, snacks, gift cards and party, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, storage, kitchenware, homewares and seasonal items in 375 store locat ...

, and mergers of chains until it was finally placed into liquidation by receivers in 2014.

''The Warehouse Extra'' hypermarkets

In June 2006, The Warehouse Extra opened at

. It was the first of a planned chain of

hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...

s, at 135,000 sq ft (12,500 sq m). In a similar fashion to the

Supercenters of the United States, the foodmarket department aisles are placed at a perpendicular angle to the general merchandise. It is the first store to feature an in-store bakery,

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

, and café, and instead of the usual tall industrial shelving, a more conventional store shelving system has been used. The store also features a lot less red than in traditional stores, but the familiar concrete floor still exists. The next branches of "The Warehouse Extra" were in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

and Te Rapa in

. In October 2008 The Warehouse announced that they would be canning "The Warehouse Extra" format with stores reverting to the more traditional style of the store coming months. There were four of The Warehouse Extra in Auckland (Albany, Manukau, Sylvia Park, and Westgate). Today "The Warehouse Extra" brand is used in larger traditional stores nationwide, with many existing large stores have taken on "The Warehouse Extra" branding such as those in

Lyall Bay Lyall Bay is a bay and suburb on the south side of the Rongotai isthmus in Wellington, New Zealand. The bay is a popular surf beach, featuring a Breakwater (structure), breakwater at the eastern end. It is home to two surf lifesaving clubs and ...

(Wellington),

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scot ...

(Christchurch),

South Dunedin South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retai ...

and

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

. Stores carrying "The Warehouse Extra" brand are typically larger, open later and carry a greater range than regular stores.

''The Warehouse Local''

On Thursday 23 July 2009, The Warehouse Group opened the first of its smaller-concept stores, The Warehouse Local, in

. These stores are approximately 2000 square meters in size, compared with the usual 5000 square meters seen in larger locations. These stores also have single checkout counters, doing without dedicated Service, Jewellery, and Entertainment counters which are present in most other stores. Another 3 stores were intended to be launched per year, following this concept. While the "Local" naming is no longer used, smaller stores in Rolleston and St Lukes have opened using the smaller format.

Entry into e-commerce

In 2009, The Warehouse announced its entry into

online shopping Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of th ...

. The brand's full range of products was available online by 2012, in time for the brand's 30th birthday. The brand's offerings were also made available on the New Zealand e-commerce platform The Market in 2019.

Store within a store

In 2017, The Warehouse Group unveiled its first "Store within a Store" (shortened to SWAS), with Warehouse Stationery moving into The Warehouse Auckland Airport after their lease at their previous Auckland Airport Mall premises ended. The Warehouse SWAS stores have many similar features of typical Warehouse Stationery stores, including a range of computers, printers, office furniture, and stationery, as well as a Print & Copy Centre. The Warehouse departments, such as furniture and entertainment, merge in a SWAS environment. There are currently 25 SWAS Warehouse Stationery Stores operating across New Zealand.

Active subsidiaries

The Warehouse Group currently owns three primary brand subsidiaries.

The Warehouse

The primary and central store for the Group, founded in 1982 by Sir Stephen Tindall, is known as The Warehouse. It offers a wide range of essential items including sports equipment, gardening equipment, and furniture. Due to their branding and distinctive red-colored buildings, The Warehouse's stores are commonly referred to as "Red Sheds" within the organization and in New Zealand. They primarily compete with

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

in the discount department store sector, as well as with other specialized retailers such as hardware stores like

Mitre 10 Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the National group. The chain name references the mitre joint. There are over 400 "Mitre 10" ...

and

Bunnings Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Per ...

, automotive parts retailers like

Repco Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retail company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialised manufacturing, for which it gained a high repu ...

and

Supercheap Auto Supercheap Auto is an Australian automotive parts and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1972, operating as a mail-order business and opened its first store in Brisbane in 1974. It now has 341 stores across Australia and New Zealand. ...

, electronics and homeware retailers like

Farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

Harvey Norman Harvey Norman is an Australian multinational retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-lis ...

and

JB Hi-Fi JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria. As of June 2024, the company operates 330 sto ...

, and grocery stores like

Woolworths New Zealand Woolworths New Zealand Limited (formerly Progressive Enterprises) is the second largest grocery company in New Zealand (behind Foodstuffs), with revenue of NZ$6.2 billion for the year to June 2018. Alongside Foodstuffs, Woolworths NZ forms par ...

and Foodstuffs.

Warehouse Stationery

Warehouse Stationery is a large store containing a variety of different products with a blue color, similar to

Officeworks Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores operated under parent company Wesfarmers. The company was established in 1994 by Coles Myer. Its head office is located in Chadstone, Melbourne. The store concept adopted by Officewor ...

in Australia or

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. As an independent chain, it was the third-largest office supply retailer in the United States. Following a 2013 merger, it is currently a brand and subsidiary of Office Depot. ...

in America. It offers a wide range of products across multiple categories, including office supplies, school supplies, fashion stationery, technology, furniture, art & craft, and ink & toner. In the books and stationery market, it competes with Paper Plus and

Whitcoulls Whitcoulls 2011 Limited, or simply Whitcoulls, is a major New Zealand book, stationery, gift, games and toy retail chain. Formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs, it has 54 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerv ...

, while in the electronics sector, it faces competition from retailers such as

and

. In the business and stationery online space, it competes with

. Warehouse Stationery provides customers with a BizRewards membership, allowing them to shop and collect rewards points at both The Warehouse and Warehouse Stationery stores nationwide, as well as online. Additionally, by choosing a Credit Account membership, customers can collect points in-store at Noel Leeming. The first Warehouse Stationery branch opened in 1991, and the company has since grown from 8 stores in 1995 to 70 stores spanning from Kerikeri to Invercargill as of 2019.

Noel Leeming

Noel Leeming is a retail electronics chain that specializes in selling a wide range of products, including

computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ('' computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', ...

household appliances A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

, TVs, and

audio equipment Audio equipment refers to devices that reproduce, record, or process sound. This includes microphones, radio receivers, AV receivers, CD players, tape recorders, amplifiers, mixing consoles, effects units, headphones, and speakers. Audio equip ...

. With 71 stores, including 20 in Auckland, Noel Leeming offers a larger selection of higher-value electronic goods compared to other chains under The Warehouse Group. In addition to its retail operations, Noel Leeming operates Tech Solutions, a service that provides support, installation, and learning assistance for technology users. This service caters to both in-store and in-home customers, offering comprehensive electronics and whiteware support.

Previous subsidiaries

The Warehouse Group Financial Services Ltd

The Warehouse Group Financial Services Limited was a joint venture that was formed in 2001 following the joint acquisition of Diners Club New Zealand by The Warehouse Group and

Westpac Banking Corporation Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...

. The Warehouse Group Financial Services Limited provides consumer credit cards and insurance through The Warehouse brand and distribution channels. In the 2014 Annual Report, it is stated that The Group holds a 49% minority share in this financial arm of TW Group with Westpac holding a 51% majority share. On 1 October 2015 TW Group announced the acquisition of the remaining 51% of TW Group Financial Services from Westpac. The acquisition cost $7.3 million (NZD). Later in the release TW Group also announce their plans to expand the unit not by acquisition but by internal expansion. In July 2017, less than two years following the acquisition from Westpac, The Warehouse Group announced the sale of the financial services division. The division had been slow to return a profit and returned a bigger loss then expected. The division was sold to FinanceNow, a division of

Bond and Bond

Bond & Bond (stylised as ''Bond+Bond'') was a retail electronics store founded by Enoch Bond, in

Silverdale, Auckland Silverdale is a village approximately 30 km north of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the north bank of the Weiti River and lies to the west of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula. State Highway 1 passes to the west ...

in 1875. The store opened its first home appliance branch in Auckland in 1894. It was previously a subsidiary of the Noel Leeming Group before the group's acquisition by The Warehouse Group in 2012. The chain had 31 stores in 2008. It had 24 stores in early 2013, including ten in Auckland. In 2013, Bond & Bond was merged into Noel Leeming as part of a decision to provide a clear focus on the flagship Noel Leeming brand. Bond & Bond remained as an online clearance website until its closure in 2014.

R&R Sport

R&R Sport was an independent outdoor chain established in

Dunedin Central Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the ...

in 1981. By 2014, it had 10 stores, including two in Auckland. In 2014, The Warehouse Group took over the chain and rebranded its stores as Torpedo 7.

Torpedo7

Torpedo7 was once a multi-channel subsidiary of The Warehouse Group that owns and operates several online stores, including Torpedo7 (a retailer of sports and outdoor equipment), 1-day.co.nz (an online daily deals site), and Number One Fitness (which sells

exercise equipment Exercise equipment is any apparatus or device used during physical activity to enhance the strength or conditioning effects of that exercise by providing either fixed or adjustable amounts of resistance, or to otherwise enhance the experience or ...

). Founded in 2004 by mountain bike enthusiast Luke Howard-Willis and his father, Guy Howard-Willis, The Warehouse Group purchased a 51% stake in the company for NZ$33 million. In October 2014, seven R&R Sport stores, which were previously acquired by The Warehouse Group in December 2013, were rebranded as Torpedo7. This expansion included the addition of two new physical stores, marking Torpedo7's entry into the retail of physical stores. In February 2024 The Warehouse Group sold Torpedo7 for $1 to Tahua Partners.

TheMarket

TheMarket is an online shopping platform that operates as an online marketplace, offering products from over 250 retailers and brands worldwide. Similar to

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, TheMarket provides a wide range of items for purchase. The platform is headquartered in Newmarket, Auckland, and is part of The Warehouse Group's digital transformation strategy, which began in February 2017. The initiative aimed to invest in the digital future of retail. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Justus Wilde, a global online retail expert, TheMarket team started working on the project in early 2018. With a startup mindset, they successfully launched the mobile-first platform on 1 August 2019 after a beta testing period in July. TheMarket collaborated with various retailers and brands, establishing partnerships to offer a diverse product selection. TheMarket primarily operates using a drop-shipping business model. This means that third-party

business-to-consumer Direct-to-consumer (DTC or D2C) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually transa ...

(B2C) retailers list their branded products on the platform, and orders are dispatched directly by the retailers themselves. Although TheMarket holds some inventory, its main focus is on facilitating transactions between customers and retailers. Since its launch, TheMarket has steadily grown its retailer base. Starting with 100+ retailers in August 2019, it expanded to 200+ retailers by November 2019. The platform aims to reach 400+ retailers by early 2020. In November 2019, TheMarket introduced its subscription program called TheMarket Club, which offers benefits such as free shipping, streaming services, and other features inspired by global giant Amazon. To enhance convenience for customers, TheMarket utilizes an organized network of "MarketPoint" sites within The Warehouse Group's existing 242 physical locations across New Zealand. These MarketPoint sites can be found in The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, and Torpedo7 stores. Additionally, Rural MarketPoint sites are operated by FarmSource in partnership with

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand Multinational corporation, multinational publicly traded dairy cooperative, co-operative owned by New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy ex ...

. Currently, there are 72 MarketPoint sites available, and plans are in place to expand to 300 nationwide. MarketPoint sites allow customers to collect and return goods purchased from TheMarket, similar to services offered by Amazon Hub or

ASOS.com ASOS plc ( ) is a British online fast-fashion and Cosmetics, cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories, ...

’s Click and Collect. In March 2024 The Warehouse said that it had intentions to either sell or close TheMarket by the end of the year.

Financial results

The Warehouse went public in 1995. Since then the stock has climbed from $1.29 to $5.54 in 2005 then to $2.605 as of 8 January 2015. During 2005, the stock dropped dramatically due to worse than expected results from the Australian operation. In the financial year ended September 2015, The Warehouse Group reported a revenue of NZ$2.77 billion (up 4.6% on the previous financial year) and profits of NZ$57.1 million (down nearly 6% on the last financial year). Online sales made up NZ$150 million of their revenue – a rise of nearly 800% from just NZ$18.8 million in 2011, though still barely 0.56% of their total sales. While The Warehouse and Warehouse Stationery recorded strong profit growth, the Noel Leeming electronics store division reported a drop in profit of 43% (partly due to one-off rebranding costs). The Torpedo7 Group (including Torpedo7, R&R Fitness, Shotgun Supplements and No.1 Fitness) recorded a profit just above break-even, hit by change and rebranding costs. Meanwhile, the Warehouse Financial Services division recorded a $1.9 million loss, "in line with expectations".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warehouse Group, The Department stores of New Zealand Retail companies of New Zealand Companies based in Auckland Companies listed on the New Zealand Exchange Companies in the S&P/NZX 50 Index Retail companies established in 1982 Discount stores of New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 1982