Poor Warehouse result not mirrored across retail

Poor Warehouse result not mirrored across retail

"The Warehouse's poor December result is not a reflection of the overall state of retail across the country," says Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.

"The Warehouse's trade may have been down for December but lets not forget that eftpos provider Paymark reported a much better December than the previous year and a record Christmas Eve across the country. Let's not forget that nationwide the value of pre-Christmas trade was up over 4% and volumes were up over 6.5%.

"Overall December was better than the previous year largely because consumer confidence is on the rise. I don't think the Warehouse can legitmately put the rest of the retail sector in the same box - because overall the rest of New Zealand's retail sector experienced a bit of a rally in December.

"It might have been a case of the Warehouse experiencing a flat Christmas because consumers were feeling more confident and so kept away from the low-cost retailers. Low-cost retailers generally do better than others in a recession. With New Zealand technically out of recession in the second half of last year, and confidence generally on the rise, it's no surprise The Warehouse's end-of-year trade was hit.

"The Warehouse markets itself as the place where everyone gets a bargain. However there were bargains in almost every other New Zealand store this Christmas. Some amazing discounts could be found in some of our most upmarket stores and so why would you still go to the Warehouse? Perhaps the Warehouse is learning the hard way that it no longer has a monopoly on bargains," says Cameron Brewer.

ENDS

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