The Warehouse Group (TWG) was established by Stephen Tindall in 1982 and is the largest retail group in operation in New Zealand. It is a corporate conglomerate that consists of The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, 1-day, and TheMarket. Until recently (Q1 2024) the Warehouse Group also included Torpedo7.
In February 2024 The Warehouse Group sold Torpedo7 for $1 to Tahua Partners. Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warehouse_Group
“Torpedo7 represents only 5% of our Group sales, and the tough reality is that our attention and resources are better spent strengthening our core The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery and Noel Leeming retail brands.
“Torpedo7 has faced ongoing challenges to its performance recently. Lower consumer demand post-Covid, driven in part by a global decline in the bike market, has impacted sales and profitability. We’ve decided it’s time to draw a line under it and we have found an owner who can focus more attention to its turnaround. The sale of Torpedo7 is one of the steps we’re taking as part of our strategic reprioritisation to narrow and simplify our focus on improving our performance and delivering better value to shareholders and customers. Other initiatives include managing gross profit margin, reducing our cost base and rebalancing capital expenditure.”
Woke Rating
We rate The Warehouse Group as extremely woke. There’s lots of virtue signalling, Rainbow policies and initiatives, DEI, “unconscious bias” training etc.
Woke Summary
- Virtue Signalling – lots of virtue signalling found.
- Gender Ideology & LGBTQ – The Warehouse Group is Rainbow Tick Certified, has Rainbow policies, and is heavily involved with many LGBTQI+ events and initiatives such as Pride Month and Big Gay Out. The Warehouse even sells Rainbow Pride products/merchandise. The Warehouse Group supports Gender Transitioning.
- Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) – has DEI policies. Applies gender-based recruitment targets, and integrates Te ao Māori (Māori worldview and spirituality) into the organisation.
- Critical Race Theory – focused on reducing “unconscious bias.” Has a Māori cultural strategy.
- Climate Change – supports the Paris Agreement and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Has emissions reduction targets.
Woke Policies
Wokeness and virtue signalling distracts a company from its core business, which is to make a profit for shareholders while delivering excellent, affordable products and services to its customers. Businesses should not be distracted from this core purpose, otherwise there will be unnecessary costs which are ultimately passed onto consumers. Woke ideologies are typically unfriendly towards the traditional family unit.
Below are some woke policies and initiatives from The Warehouse Group (including The Warehouse, Neol Leeming, Warehouse Stationary)…
Virtue Signalling
Here are some examples of virtue signalling from The Warehouse Group…
“We work with Precious Clark, MD of Maurea Consulting, to train our leadership team in immersive courses covering te reo Māori, Māori history and how to incorporate more te reo Māori into their day-to-day lives. Precious also supports us as a sounding board for our internal and external events relating to Māori culture, ensuring that our tone, actions and intentions are culturally appropriate.”
“We feel we have a duty to not only celebrate the various cultures and ethnicities that encompass our organisation but to educate others as well.”
“In FY23, we worked to empower our teams to bring our diversity and inclusion strategy to life by launching four team member-led community groups: Te Ao Māori, Pride, Wāhine (women) Advocates and Neurodiversity. Members are enabled to drive programmes and initiatives that are important to them and help elevate events such as Matariki and Māori Language Week, International Women’s Day and Pride Month. We plan to empower and strengthen these groups in FY24.”
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/corporate-citizenship/diversity-inclusion
“We are proud to celebrate the various cultures across our offices, stores and distribution centres and set up a dedicated Māori culture group which provides insight and helps us to develop a more comprehensive Māori strategy. Our Te Kaa training programme for senior leaders provides foundational knowledge about Māori culture and how to consider Māori culture within the decision-making process. In FY21, we began running Māori cultural workshops where team members who identify as Māori come together to help us understand what they would like to see the Group be involved in or develop as a business. The outcomes of these initiatives will form the foundation of our Māori cultural strategy which we plan to implement in FY22.”
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/application/files/5416/3281/2688/TWG_Annual_Report_2021_Our_People.pdf
“Here at The Warehouse Group we are committed to supporting this [LGBTQI++] community, not just during Auckland Pride Festival, but all year round. This ties in with one of our core values, Here for Good, as well as our overall mission of Helping Kiwis Live Better Every day.”
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/news-updates/warehouse-group/proud-be-part-pride
Gender Ideology & LGBTQ+
The Warehouse Group is Rainbow Tick Certified, has Rainbow policies, and is heavily involved with many LGBTQI+ events and initiatives such as Pride Month. The Warehouse even sells Rainbow Pride items.
“Our dedicated Pride@TWG Workplace group offers LGBTIQ+ community team members and allies the space to search, share, collaborate and post everything TWG Pride-related. There is also a recurring Inclusion and Belonging working group that is attended by each of our brand CEOs and General Executives on a regular basis.”
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/news-updates/warehouse-group/supporting-our-lgbtiq-community
LGBTTQIA+ Initiatives and Policies:
“We’ve long been a supporter of the LGBTTQIA+ community, and with our Rainbow Tick certification, we are formally recognised as such. Every year we play a role in Pride events to show our support to the LGBTTQIA+ community in our organisation and beyond through sponsorship of Big Gay Out and Pride Parades in Wellington and Auckland.”
“We also sponsor Red Ribbon Day and support OUTline, which offers free, confidential counselling for anyone in the LGBTIQ+ community.”
Supporting Gender Transitioning:
“We were one of the first major organisation in New Zealand to have a formal gender transition policy, and we work to support our team choosing to undergo the transition by developing a personalised plan to ensure they feel supported and heard throughout the process. All team members are able to use the name and gender of choice and can alter this themselves via our payroll system.”
“The Transgender policy provides employees with up to 10 days paid leave to attend medical related appointments that are associated with a medical transition.”
Source: www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/corporate-citizenship/diversity-inclusion
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/news-updates/warehouse-group/supporting-our-lgbtiq-community
**********************************************
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
The Warehouse Group has DEI policies and applies gender recruitment targets.
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/corporate-citizenship/diversity-inclusion
www.twgannualreport.co.nz/integrated-report/our-people/
Make any sense of this wokeness …
“In 2020, The Warehouse Group began its transition to an Agile working model. In an Agile model, traditional senior leadership roles, such as GMs or Heads of, are replaced by Chapter Area Leads, Chapter Leads and Tribe Leads. In doing so, we revised our approach to how we assess and categorise talent in the organisation, bringing in the three dimensions of Craft, Mindset and Delivery that underpin our contribution model. Not only has this created more diverse teams that use their different skills, experiences and perspectives to solve complex customer problems, it has also seen increased participation of females in senior leadership roles.”
Critical Race Theory
“We are focused on increasing our diversity and inclusion practices and reducing unconscious bias to gender, culture, age, and sexual orientation.”
www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/application/files/5416/3281/2688/TWG_Annual_Report_2021_Our_People.pdf
Climate Change
The Warehouse Group supports the Paris Agreement, and has emissions reduction targets. Committed to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Our annual carbon emissions reporting continues to follow the strictest audit standards (Toitū CarbonReduce certification) of our reporting partner, Toitū. Our reduction targets align with the New Zealand Climate Leaders Coalition commitments, which reflect the Paris Agreement guidelines.”
“Reducing our direct carbon emissions (Scope 1 and 2) is one of the most important parts of our sustainability plan. Our ambition is to reach zero emissions in our operations by 2040 – without using carbon offsets.”
Targets include:
- Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions aligned to a 1.5-degree trajectory, reducing 42% by 2030 compared to our 2020 base year and with a pathway to zero emissions by 2040;
- Reduce domestic and international freight emissions by 40% by 2030 and only use sustainable transportation fuel by 2040
- To install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at all possible stores by 2030
Source: www.twgannualreport.co.nz/integrated-report/our-environment/
Positive Policies & Activities
From: www.twgcareers.co.nz/nz/en/benefits
Parental Leave: 26 weeks parental leave on full pay
“We will top up your government parental leave payments to 100% of your full pay for a 26 week period (provided you are an eligible permanent team member) to alleviate financial pressure for your family.”
Breastfeeding policy
“We care about ensuring all of our customers, including parents and carers, feel comfortable within our stores. We want all mothers to know that they’re welcome to breastfeed in The Warehouse stores, and all parents and carers are invited to utilise our changing rooms to take care of the needs of their young ones.”
Accessibility
“We believe a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace brings out the best in our people. That’s why we’re committed to creating an environment where all team members feel safe and confident to bring their whole selves to work. With approximately one in four New Zealanders limited by a physical, sensory or learning disability, mental health or other challenges, this touches all aspects of our business.”
Family Violence is Not OK
“You have access to up to 15 days discretionary leave to deal with issues related to family violence.”
Period product access at work
“We provide free period products (pads) in team member bathrooms across all stores, distribution centres and support office locations. This is part of our commitment to period product access – we give our team members pads just as we would any other basic bathroom necessity.”
Note – This page was updated as of 20th May 2024. Please contact us if you’ve discovered other relevant information about The Warehouse Group or other businesses pushing woke agendas. You should also contact us if you discover some positively woke-free businesses.