Carolyn Young: Retail NZ CEO on the proposed closure of EB Games' New Zealand stores

Retail New Zealand's Chief Executive says the closure of Australian retailer EB Games would have a wide-reaching impact.  

The Australian video-game retailer's proposing shutting its 38 New Zealand stores and its Distribution Centre. 

Staff reportedly have until Monday to feed back on the plan. 

Retail NZ's Carolyn Young told Andrew Dickens the retail climate's been really challenging over the past few years.  

She says losing EB is not a small thing. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB. Follow
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
The iconic gaming store eb Games is proposing to shut
down all of its New Zealand shops, and a note
sent to employees Managing director Shane Stockwell clarified that the
proposal is not yet final, but the decision awaits consultation
with team members. So eb Games is an Australian based retailer,
but the New Zealand business came out of the twenty
four fiscal year with a multimillion dollar loss. I'm joined

(00:39):
now by Retail New Zealand Chief executive Carolyn Young. Good
morning to you, Carolyn, good morning, happy a year. Thank you.
Now what's this consultation going to look like?

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Well, look, it's the normal process that a business needs
to go through if they're looking to make changes to
their business. And they'll have a proposal where they've set
out details to staff around what the issues are for
the organization and the challenges that they're facing. Follow and
that consultation, they'll consider feedback from staff and make a

(01:11):
decision from there.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Do you know how many staff are involved with how
many jobs might be lost.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
No, but when you've got thirty eight stores across the country,
you're talking hundreds of staff.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Why are they losing so much business in New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Look, you know, we know that the retail climate has
been exceptionally challenging, and you know, their businesses is just
one of many businesses that has been struggling over the
last three or four or five years. And you know
they're making a decision now that they don't believe that
the economy will have made a big enough shift for

(01:47):
them to be able to turn those things around. So
there's a wide range of things that go into why
businesses can struggle and can do with their financing, it
can do with their price point, it can do with
their product range. A whole raft of things go into
those sort of situations. But you know, we know that
retail has been struggling for quite some time.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, and gaming changed, it's gone online, the consoles are dying.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yeah, exactly, And so that you know, in those sorts
of environments, you have to make sure that your business
remains tenable in a changing market and that you either
broaden your offering or you know, change the direction of
where the business is going to meet the demands or
potential demands for getting new customers and growing your business.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
And as a listen to us all that, yes, there
may be green shoots coming in twenty twenty six, but
if your business model is wrong, it's wrong, no matter
what the financial conditions.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
That's right, you know. And if you're standing still going
backwards in any business in economic environment, so you do
have to make sure that you're continuing to review. You
know your business, your strategy, who your customers are, are
you meeting their needs and does that meet the needs
of today and tomorrow, always keeping one eye on tomorrow

(03:05):
as well as focusing on today.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Carolyn good Luck for two twenty six, and that is
Carolyn Young, Retail New Zealand CEO.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
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