WHS - Warehouse Group

[BIRMANBOY]

For those customers such as yourself who expect "champagne and caviar" service on a beer budget...you could shop online and save yourself the indignity

If you could quickly and accurately ascertain the price of an item by glancing at it you might want to purchase it which could lead to all sorts of supply chain, staffing and stocking issues. Being charged prices that in no way relates to the ticketed prices or any promotional offer, finding stock out of place and reluctant staff who are daydreaming about the end of their shift is all part of the warehouses unique charm. Remove those quirks and it would just be some sort of industrial building lots of people regularly frequent to purchase things.

[Onion]

Being charged prices that in no way relates to the ticketed prices or any promotional offer, finding stock out of place and reluctant staff who are daydreaming about the end of their shift is all part of the warehouses unique charm.

Mrs Onion is a fine bargain hunter and she frequently reports that discounted purchases at the Warehouse are EVEN CHEAPER than the discounted ticket price when the goods are rung up at the till.

[Tomtom]

For those customers such as yourself who expect "champagne and caviar" service on a beer budget...you could shop online and save yourself the indignity

You can buy the same items on sites like Aliexpress and at lower cost but I think The Warehouse should have an advantage in feel good factor being that I can walk out with my sticky little mitts on an item.

As I'm not a shareholder I'm not that bothered in a way. Perhaps they opt to resolve long-running problems or maybe they opt to continue their approach to retailing. They can keep going for a long time but inevitably, one way or another, they will be forced to make a move at some point.

[BIRMANBOY]

I was referring to buying online with WHS...I've used their online shopping facility a couple of times and its fine. If you were a shareholder you would have been receiving a healthy dividend for your investment. Since you are not its all a bit hypothetical. All business's will have problems at times especially retail...WHS is a good performer when you start comparing it to others in that field. "They have been going for a long time"..yes correct..."they will be forced to make a move at some point" ...that's not very illuminating.....and unfortunately informs us of nothing. If you buy shares in WHS you are investing in an iconic retailer with a huge footprint in the market..92 stores and over 9000 employees plus many NZ SME business's that supply to WHS. In todays world all retail is changing/shrinking/transforming. WHS is holding its own which to my mind is a sign of a strong brand. My suggestion is next time you need something in a budget range get your "sticky little mitts" down to the WHS. Why? Because collectively we need to support NZ business as much as possible. What was that old saying..."the job you save may be your own". The signs are visible everywhere and in every country. As small business gets priced out by overseas competition there needs to be a long transition period to gradually change the educational/training throughput of working people. It is important that we give ourselves as much time as possible to successfully carry out that transition. Otherwise we 'll end up like Greece etc where un-employment is rife, small business employing many people and families has dried up and the workforce hasn't moved forward. So next time you buy something from Aliexpress think about that

You can buy the same items on sites like Aliexpress and at lower cost but I think The Warehouse should have an advantage in feel good factor being that I can walk out with my sticky little mitts on an item.

As I'm not a shareholder I'm not that bothered in a way. Perhaps they opt to resolve long-running problems or maybe they opt to continue their approach to retailing. They can keep going for a long time but inevitably, one way or another, they will be forced to make a move at some point.

[couta1]

Well said BB unfortunately the knockers keep on a knocking, see at least the WHS show loyalty to NZ by using an online search engine in SLI systems.

[biker]

If you could quickly and accurately ascertain the price of an item by glancing at it you might want to purchase it which could lead to all sorts of supply chain, staffing and stocking issues. Being charged prices that in no way relates to the ticketed prices or any promotional offer, finding stock out of place and reluctant staff who are daydreaming about the end of their shift is all part of the warehouses unique charm. Remove those quirks and it would just be some sort of industrial building lots of people regularly frequent to purchase things.

Very droll!! Well put. If the Warehouse really get their act together, I think they have great share price gain potential ( not to mention dividend) Certainly haven't got that good shopping experience bit sorted yet. Being charged a price at the checkout that in no way resembles the ticket price or any promotional offer happens almost every time I buy something there.
Maybe it's a 'nice surprise' marketing plan.

Disc. Shareholder

[Bjauck]

...and reluctant staff who are daydreaming about the end of their shift....

I don't think that is a phenomenon found just at WHS.

If you restore income relativity so that the directors and managers are not paid proportionately ever greater amounts than the junior staff, you may get a greater sense of commitment from the juniors. Introduce a wide share purchase/option scheme for more junior staff. Introduce greater job security...etc. If you treat junior staff as commodities, then they will reciprocate. Commodotising staff has been a trend in NZ since the mid-1980's. I think the trend in NZ's income gini coefficient has played its part too...with the result of less social cohesion and commitment from those at the less well-paid end!

Disc: Not a shareholder

[tim23]

I often shop at hallensteins and mention I'm a shareholder and the staff often look at me like I'm speaking Latin do they not teach young people about owning shares?

[kiwitrev]

Just received an email regarding WHS bond issue, replacing the $100m they have on issue at present, maturing 15/6/15. No mention of yield as going through a 'bookbuild' process, and will giving maturing holders the ability to roll them over. Over-subscriptions up to $125m

Last traded based on a 6% yield (with only just over a month left on them), but coupon of 7.37%. Expect this time around that would be a bit less these days....depending on appetite.....

Interesting situation for those holding the current bond and for all in general. If one was considering applying for the new bond at yield 5.3% to 5.5% I think it is quoted at, why would you not buy the share instead at a much higher rate of return? The risk for each is slightly different but it is the same company and some of these risks are likely to have a similar effect should WHS business continue to stuggle.

[winner69]

Interesting situation for those holding the current bond and for all in general. If one was considering applying for the new bond at yield 5.3% to 5.5% I think it is quoted at, why would you not buy the share instead at a much higher rate of return? The risk for each is slightly different but it is the same company and some of these risks are likely to have a similar effect should WHS business continue to stuggle.

Good point trev

Getting 6.1% post tax (dividends) is a lot better than 3.8% post tax (notes) eh .... almost 60% more

Maybe they worried that if the WHS share price falls by 6 cents a year that wipes out the difference ..... meaning taking the safer more secure option could be far better. And some probably think that that 17 cent dividend is not that certain either.

Then again the share price could zoom ahead and they don't share in the capital gains (and probably in this case increased dividends)

Think sums right about that 6 cents ..... not really that much leeway is there?