The Warehouse Group – Trading Update

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To: Market Information Services Section
NZX Limited
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Auckland, 24 March 2020

Trading Update
The Warehouse Group (“the Group”) would like to provide an update in relation to COVID-19
(“coronavirus”) and its potential impact on its business operations. The Warehouse Group operates
the brands The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, Torpedo 7, 1-day and TheMarket,
with 258 stores across New Zealand.
The 92 stores of The Warehouse will remain open for business for Kiwis during the Government
sanctioned Level 4 COVID-19 isolation period. The Warehouse is a provider of key consumer goods
essential for maintaining the wellbeing of people such as food and beverage, groceries, cleaning
items, health and beauty items including toiletries, winter essentials e.g. blankets, clothing and
heaters and stationery and office supplies for home schooling and work-from-home needs.
Online stores across all of our brands (not only The Warehouse) and our distribution and fulfilment
centres, will also continue to operate to provide contactless delivery to those at home and to
essential businesses.
At this stage it is more important than ever that we live up to our purpose of helping Kiwis live better
every day by making sure that we show up for our communities in the way that they need. In the past
two weeks the Group has seen unprecedented demand for essential items across all our brands.
Goods sold included essential items to prepare themselves for the mandatory isolation period of at
least four weeks.
In our response as a business to COVID-19, our primary priority is the safety of team members and
our customers and we have put in place measures to keep our people safe, including new protocols in
stores, additional cleaning and additional leave and wellbeing support. We are working with New
Zealand’s two major supermarkets to submit to government personal protection equipment
requirements and supply for our people. Customers in store will be asked to adhere to new protocols
including social distancing and limiting purchasing, in some cases, to two items per product.
We will continue to evolve our protection protocols for our team members and we are well aware
that as one of the largest New Zealand employers, with 12,000 employees, the Group’s ability to keep
its Warehouse brand and Group fulfilment centres open, not only helps customers with key essentials
but it goes some way to ensuring the sustainability of the business for communities, customers and
stakeholders.
The Warehouse Group want to particularly acknowledge the hard work of its team at this difficult
time.
ENDS

Contact details regarding this announcement:

Investors and Analysts: Jonathan Oram, Chief Financial Officer
+64 21 757 415, jonathan.oram@thewarehouse.co.nz

Media: Nick Grayston, Group Chief Executive Officer
To be contacted via Tanya Henderson
+64 21 195 2854, media.enquiries@thewarehouse.co.nz.