The Warehouse Group Limited Analysis

Overview

The Warehouse Group Limited (WHS) was established in 1982 by Stephen Tindall, initially selling imported and manufactured clearance lines in Takapuna, Auckland. The Warehouse has subsequently grown to become one of New Zealand's largest general merchandise retailer. The company also owns The Warehouse Stationery chain.

The group was listed in November 1994 following a public issue of 23.6 million ordinary shares at $2.50.

In 2000 it bought two Australian discount variety chains with 126 stores, Clint's and Silly Solly's, for A$118m, incorporating them into a division called The Warehouse Australia. In November 2005, it agreed to sell its Australian business.

On 31 July 2008 the Court of Appeal announced that it had set aside a clearance granted by the High Court for Woolworths and Foodstuffs to acquire up to 100% of the shares in WHS. Both Woolworths and Foodstuffs hold 10% each of WHS.

On October 9, 2008, WHS announced that, after a review, it had decided to discontinue its plan to roll out the Warehouse Extra format as it did not meet its investment criteria.

Performance

The following information was extracted from The Warehouse Group Limited's FY26 Third Quarter Trading Update

The Warehouse Group (“the Group”) has today provided a trading update for the 13 weeks ended 3 May 2026 (“FY26 Q3”).

• Group sales were $700.8 million, down 1.4% compared to the 13 weeks ending 27 April 2025 (“FY25 Q3”). Group like for like same store sales (1) were flat compared to the corresponding 13 weeks ending 4 May 2025

• Group sales year to date for the 39 weeks ending 3 May 2026 were $2.3 billion, up 0.7% on a like for like same store sales basis

• The Warehouse FY26 Q3 sales were $405.3 million, down 2.5% compared to FY25 Q3, with like for like same store sales down 0.8%

• Warehouse Stationery FY26 Q3 sales were $57.1 million, down 2.9% compared to FY25 Q3, with like for like same store sales up 3.1%

• Noel Leeming FY26 Q3 sales were $236.6 million, up 0.7% compared to FY25 Q3, with like for like same store sales up 1.1%

• Group gross profit margin up 50 basis points in FY26 Q3 compared to the same period last year, and up 10 basis points for FY26 year to date compared to the same period last year

• Noel Leeming will open a new flagship store on Queen Street in Auckland later this year

The Group delivered a stable trading result for the quarter ended 3 May 2026, with sales flat on a like for like same store sales basis, despite growing pressure on consumer confidence throughout the quarter.

Group Chief Executive Officer Mark Stirton said the result reflected progress on improving retail fundamentals in an increasingly tough climate. “As fuel prices rose, we saw customers become more conscious of travel, making fewer shopping trips but buying more when they visited our stores,” said Mr Stirton.

Group foot traffic declined 1.8% during the quarter, while average customer basket size increased 2.7%. Group online sales increased 5.4% in FY26 Q3, representing 6.8% of total sales, up from 6.4% in FY25 Q3, driven by particularly strong online growth in Noel Leeming.