Mitre 10, Briscoes join Smiths City and The Warehouse in selling essentials during lockdown

Tuesday, 31 March 2020

New advice to the Government shows there could be at least 14,000 deaths in New Zealand if efforts to control and eradicate Covid-19 fail.

Mitre 10 and Briscoes joined fellow retailers The Warehouse and Smiths City on Tuesday afternoon, saying they can now sell a limited range of products without opening their stores during the coronavirus lockdown.

Government clarification on the rules around essential goods has enabled the retailers to sell a limited range of essential items like heaters, school materials and hygiene-related goods.

The Warehouse was forced last week to retract an announcement that it would be trading while the country was at alert level 4, a statement which saw its shareprice spike and then substantially fall again.

Customers will be able to either make an order over the phone or online to The Warehouse or Noel Leeming call centres and websites, and deliveries would be 'contactless,' The Warehouse told the NZX on Tuesday morning.

**READ MORE:

Mitre 10 stores had been selling some goods to trade customers since Friday.

* Too much confusion for businesses about what's really 'essential'

* The Warehouse share price 'likely to fall'

* Govt's rules around essential businesses are a mess, get ready for more of that**

Smiths City then announced a softening in the definition of essential goods meant it too would be able to offer online and phone sales of items like heaters, whiteware, and computers.

The companies said they would reopen their distribution centres and certain stores to fulfil the orders, but stores would remain closed to shoppers.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, Briscoes said it had reopened its online site which had been updated to include only homeware 'essentials' for sale.

The Warehouse originally believed it was right in its assumption it could open.

'The products we will have available will include blankets (including electric blankets), heaters, dehumidifiers, kitchenware, cooking appliances and winter bedding products.'

Mitre 10 also said it could sell essential goods such as heating, firewood, safety gear, plumbing and hardware products for retail customers to order online and have delivered to their homes.

Products would be sold at standard prices, with quantity limits applied to some goods, the company said.

Mitre 10 stores had been supplying goods to trade customers for essential services since Friday.

From The Warehouse, shoppers will be able to buy a selected range of goods including hygiene health and beauty items, baby supplies, homewares such as bedding and blankets, heating, engine oil and batteries.

Products available from its Noel Leeming business include toasters, kettles, ovens, and other food preparation items; replacement items such as washing machines; and materials for working from home and home schooling, such as computer accessories, laptops, and routers.

The announcement is good news for Smiths City which has been talking to its bank and ''potential investors''.

Air purifiers and heating essentials were also on the list as colder weather approaches.

The Warehouse said it would also partially resume supplying goods to government departments and other essential businesses, such as replacing essential items insurance claims.

Because The Warehouse's U-turn affected its share price, the company risked coming to the attention of the NZX's regulatory arm which would not comment on whether it was investigating.

A penalty of up to $500,000 can be imposed on a listed company that is found to break the exchange's rules, which can be raised again if the company is found to have benefited from the breach.

But The Warehouse said the mistake was a result of uncertainty over what met the Government's definition of an essential business or service.