00:00:00
Speaker 1: Now the new owners of Torpedo seven have announced their plans for the remaining sixteen stores across the country. Tahoe Group have bought Torpedo seven off the Warehouse Group for a dollar last year. You remember that the six marquee Torpedo seven stores will remain open, which is good for you to know that Westgate locations will shut. But the interesting part is what's happening to the other ten stores they'll rebrand is a new retail chain called the Outlet. Roger Harper is the Tahua Group managing director. He's with me tonight, Roger. Good evening.
00:00:35
Speaker 2: Hi, Roan, great to talk to you.
00:00:37
Speaker 1: Tell it. What is the what's the cell here? Without that? Why the rebrand? What's going on?
00:00:44
Speaker 3: Well, some time ago we saw what we thought was a real gap in the market over here.
00:00:49
Speaker 2: Obviously we actually not the new owners.
00:00:52
Speaker 3: We bought Torpedo seven a year ago and you know we've been working to turn that business around. We'd also seen a gap in the market that we thought there was for outlet shopping, particularly in retail New Zealand. Now, if you think about outlet shopping, everybody loves outlet shopping. Opportunity for a treasure hunt to find a brand at a great price. And we have outlet shopping in New Zealand think Dress Smart or Manowa Bay that recently opened in Auckland. But what we're trying to do and well and outlet malls are massive in Australia, off price retail massive overseas think TK and TJ Max in the US and the UK. But we're going to try and put it all into one store and take it to provincial New Zealand and some main centers as well. But you know, you can't stack an outlet mall up in Napier, but you can provide an amazing store with great brands at great prices. So we think there's a opportunity there.
00:01:58
Speaker 1: What brands are we talking about and what how much cheaper are we talking?
00:02:03
Speaker 3: Well you you name a brand, Ryan, and well where where you know in the market. We'll be buying locally and buying from offshore and we're hopeful of buying all the big brands and apparel and footwear in particular, but sports home a number of categories. It's all about getting getting great deals and and when you're talking what's it going to be in terms of price we're saying it's going to be you know, fifty to sev thirty to seventy percent of free tail.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: I would say, okay, well this is I mean, if you're listening in the regions, this will be very welcome news. I would imagine what about the Torpedo seven stores that you're keeping the flagship the Marquees stores. You know, why were you keen on picking up the brand and are they still performing well? Obviously are and you're keeping them open.
00:02:59
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: Look, we were really keen on the brand. We love the category New Zealand Outdoors. Who wants to not to love about the New Zealand Outdoors And the brand was well known and well loved. It obviously was having a lot of problems with its previous owner, but weally love a good turnaround and we saw a real opportunity there to turn this business around.
00:03:25
Speaker 2: And it has scale.
00:03:27
Speaker 3: It was a significant sized business, so I think it when it's previous owner had twenty four twenty five stores, they actually closed a few and we're basically looking for what is a sustainable model for that brand.
00:03:43
Speaker 2: It actually started out over twenty years ago.
00:03:46
Speaker 3: In Hamilton as a pure online play, and we think you know, retail channels have changed, but they haven't changed. We're going back to being more online, having hero stores. It should be a great experience in the flagship stores, they'll be well stocked, have great product, great deals. But online is going to be a major part of it is a major part of this business and it's probably going to be a bigger part in the future. And the existing outlet stores we still able to click and collect the product from those stores.
00:04:23
Speaker 1: Are we still are we still as into the outdoors as we as we always have been. I'm just looking at the Catman Do result, I mean, a less than stellar result from them today, sort of sport outdoors.
00:04:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I think we are. We love the outdoors and as I said, wat's they're not to love about the New Zealand outdoors. I think what it's happened is it's really gone through an unusual cycle because during the COVID period, everybody went out and bought a bike or a tent, or a stand up paddle board or that sort of thing. So we had a mass assid binge over those COVID years and the whole industry, including as you mentioned, Katman Do, has suffered a bit of a hangover after that. I think a lot of those business thought that it was the new normal and when stopped up thinking that business was going to carry on at that level, and it didn't.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: But it'll come back. It'll go through a cycle.
00:05:23
Speaker 3: As I say, you know, people end up buying new tent, they'll end up buying a bicycle, a snowboard. You know, these things will come back again.
00:05:34
Speaker 1: Roger, great to have you on the show. Appreciate your time this evening. Roger Harper, Tahua Group Managing Director. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: Now the new owners of Torpedo seven have announced their plans for the remaining sixteen stores across the country. Tahoe Group have bought Torpedo seven off the Warehouse Group for a dollar last year. You remember that the six marquee Torpedo seven stores will remain open, which is good for you to know that Westgate locations will shut. But the interesting part is what's happening to the other ten stores they'll rebrand is a new retail chain called the Outlet. Roger Harper is the Tahua Group managing director. He's with me tonight, Roger. Good evening.
00:00:35
Speaker 2: Hi, Roan, great to talk to you.
00:00:37
Speaker 1: Tell it. What is the what's the cell here? Without that? Why the rebrand? What's going on?
00:00:44
Speaker 3: Well, some time ago we saw what we thought was a real gap in the market over here.
00:00:49
Speaker 2: Obviously we actually not the new owners.
00:00:52
Speaker 3: We bought Torpedo seven a year ago and you know we've been working to turn that business around. We'd also seen a gap in the market that we thought there was for outlet shopping, particularly in retail New Zealand. Now, if you think about outlet shopping, everybody loves outlet shopping. Opportunity for a treasure hunt to find a brand at a great price. And we have outlet shopping in New Zealand think Dress Smart or Manowa Bay that recently opened in Auckland. But what we're trying to do and well and outlet malls are massive in Australia, off price retail massive overseas think TK and TJ Max in the US and the UK. But we're going to try and put it all into one store and take it to provincial New Zealand and some main centers as well. But you know, you can't stack an outlet mall up in Napier, but you can provide an amazing store with great brands at great prices. So we think there's a opportunity there.
00:01:58
Speaker 1: What brands are we talking about and what how much cheaper are we talking?
00:02:03
Speaker 3: Well you you name a brand, Ryan, and well where where you know in the market. We'll be buying locally and buying from offshore and we're hopeful of buying all the big brands and apparel and footwear in particular, but sports home a number of categories. It's all about getting getting great deals and and when you're talking what's it going to be in terms of price we're saying it's going to be you know, fifty to sev thirty to seventy percent of free tail.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: I would say, okay, well this is I mean, if you're listening in the regions, this will be very welcome news. I would imagine what about the Torpedo seven stores that you're keeping the flagship the Marquees stores. You know, why were you keen on picking up the brand and are they still performing well? Obviously are and you're keeping them open.
00:02:59
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: Look, we were really keen on the brand. We love the category New Zealand Outdoors. Who wants to not to love about the New Zealand Outdoors And the brand was well known and well loved. It obviously was having a lot of problems with its previous owner, but weally love a good turnaround and we saw a real opportunity there to turn this business around.
00:03:25
Speaker 2: And it has scale.
00:03:27
Speaker 3: It was a significant sized business, so I think it when it's previous owner had twenty four twenty five stores, they actually closed a few and we're basically looking for what is a sustainable model for that brand.
00:03:43
Speaker 2: It actually started out over twenty years ago.
00:03:46
Speaker 3: In Hamilton as a pure online play, and we think you know, retail channels have changed, but they haven't changed. We're going back to being more online, having hero stores. It should be a great experience in the flagship stores, they'll be well stocked, have great product, great deals. But online is going to be a major part of it is a major part of this business and it's probably going to be a bigger part in the future. And the existing outlet stores we still able to click and collect the product from those stores.
00:04:23
Speaker 1: Are we still are we still as into the outdoors as we as we always have been. I'm just looking at the Catman Do result, I mean, a less than stellar result from them today, sort of sport outdoors.
00:04:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I think we are. We love the outdoors and as I said, wat's they're not to love about the New Zealand outdoors. I think what it's happened is it's really gone through an unusual cycle because during the COVID period, everybody went out and bought a bike or a tent, or a stand up paddle board or that sort of thing. So we had a mass assid binge over those COVID years and the whole industry, including as you mentioned, Katman Do, has suffered a bit of a hangover after that. I think a lot of those business thought that it was the new normal and when stopped up thinking that business was going to carry on at that level, and it didn't.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: But it'll come back. It'll go through a cycle.
00:05:23
Speaker 3: As I say, you know, people end up buying new tent, they'll end up buying a bicycle, a snowboard. You know, these things will come back again.
00:05:34
Speaker 1: Roger, great to have you on the show. Appreciate your time this evening. Roger Harper, Tahua Group Managing Director. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
