The Warehouse stops selling fireworks

Monday, 24 May 2021

The Warehouse will no longer sell fireworks, after research showed customer support for the move.

More than half of the customers surveyed said they preferred to attend public fireworks displays.

Twenty-eight per cent did not participate in fireworks at all.

The Warehouse chief product officer Tania Benyon​ said the sale of fireworks no longer held true to the company’s values.

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“Like any of our product ranges, we assess them and we make changes accordingly,” she said.

“Feedback from our customers shows that while many are supportive of public fireworks displays to mark special events across the year, Guy Fawkes has become less of an occasion, and there are clear concerns about people letting off fireworks at home.”

The Warehouse no longer felt fireworks had a place on its shelves, she said.

Of those who indicated they were not supportive of fireworks, 27 per cent were concerned about the safety of animals and 16 per cent said their concerns were for environmental reasons.

The chief executive of animal rights organisation Safe, Debra Ashton,​ applauded the decision and said it was great news for animals.

“There is strong evidence that fireworks can cause both psychological and physical harm to animals, so reducing the public sale of fireworks should help to minimise that,” Ashton said.

“The Warehouse has shown strong leadership, so let’s hope that others will follow.”

In 2007, rules around the sale of fireworks were tightened to reduce the sales period to four days each year in the lead-up to Guy Fawkes night; to raise the legal purchase age from 14 to 18 years; to permit the sale of sparklers only as part of larger retail packs; and to reduce the explosive content and noise of retail fireworks.

But in August 2020, the parliamentary governance and administration select committee declined to recommend an outright ban on the sale of fireworks for private usage, despite calls for new restrictions from Auckland Council, police, the fire service, vets, animal welfare groups, and 28,000 petitioners.