Media Release: 21 September 2006 4.03pm
Judith Bell:
"Loyal(dis) Leader Closes The Capitalist Loop"
In an article in the New Zealand Herald titled "Tindall's Reputation on the Line" (NZ Herald 20 Sept 2006), Fran
O'Sullivan asks what's up with Stephen Tindalls plan to privatise The Warehouse and to cut shareholders out of what
could be the most profitable stage in his retail giant's history. "Surely", she asks, "this can't be the same Stephen
Tindall who sports a black
' I Love NZ' T-shirt in the photo of his company's website?"
Judith Bell - also known as Stephen Tindall -the woman, who wrote the recently released book "I See Red" (published by
Awa Press) responds.
"Given Tindalls 'I Love NZ' tee shirts and 'Loyal' silver fern flags were made in China, surely this would have alerted
more people sooner rather than later to Tindalls duplicity? For those kiwi Warehouse shareholders who are currently
feeling a bit miffed about being pushed out of the nest by New Zealands so-called "loyal leader", the bottom line is
this," explains Mrs Bell
"The Warehouse Ltd (TWL) needs growth to survive. Their strategy to expand in Australia failed spectacularly. NZ's
same-store sales are declining. The Warehouse has exhausted its ability to grow in the highly competitive non-food
merchandise sector and can only grow by entering the NZ food market."
"As the largest stakeholder in TWL, Stephen Tindall and his family interests desperately need to protect their
investment by expanding into groceries. The only way the Tindall family can raise the required capital to do so without
diluting their majority shareholding, is to seek much larger investors. So by going behind the backs of his current kiwi
investors - who Stephen Tindall evidently now believes are expendable - Tindall has buddied up with new found Australian
mates Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) who appear to have very deep pockets indeed, undoubtedly fuelled by US oil money and
super funds."
"Eventually PEP will want to realise their investment for a huge profit at which point either an even larger global
player will gobble up their shares (and possibly Tindalls too), or alternatively the dumped kiwi investors will be
invited back into the fold (no doubt by a Tindall roadshow ra-ra, reminiscent of his pre 1994 float) to once again
protect - albeit at a huge premium - the Tindall family's investment. "
"I personally know what it feels like to assist Tindall in making huge profits and then have him go behind my back after
becoming expendable to his requirements, but unlike myself, at least his current kiwi investors have an offer on the
table," said Mrs Bell. "However if these investors believe 'moral persuasion' will ensure Tindall and PEP use the
Takeovers Code provisions to secure these shares rather than using a Tindall/PEP advantaged "scheme of arrangement", I
suggest they read my book before making such an assumption."
Judith Bell further believes there will be long term ramifications of the foreign takeover of existing Warehouse shares.
"Whereas The Warehouse's model of sourcing their product off shore rather than sourcing locally worked against the
democratic distribution of wealth in this country, at least with local shareholders, some of the profits of sales were
returned to New Zealand. But by outsourcing foreign capital to remove these local shareholders, the fig leaf of
democratic distribution is removed, thus showing the ugly truth beneath - that truth being that even the profits made by
New Zealand sales, will belong to foreigners, except of course for the Tindall family and an exclusive hand picked
clique of Warehouse executives."
"With this manoueveur completed the international capitalists' loop has been closed. They will own production as well as
distribution and take the profits from all. New Zealanders will be nothing but cash donors in this equation. Baron
Tindall is ordering the kiwi peasants that glean from his fields, away, as he now wants every grain for himself, his
family and his new found friends."
"In doing so," says Mrs Bell, " I believe Stephen Tindall - who was recently awarded the Blake Award for leadership - is
leading New Zealand away from democracy and back to the dark days of feudalism."
ENDS