Warehouse seen as NZ's most respected company

By NZPA

Monday 9th December 2002

The Warehouse is New Zealanders' most admired company, according to a new study on corporate reputations.

Research by NFO Porter Novelli said the "Red Shed" bargain retailer topped a list which had Hubbard Foods and Cadbury Confectionery as runners-up.

The study said all three companies had the attributes which New Zealanders said they most respected: delivering quality, building relationships and being good employers.

"These companies have the mix right," says Porter Novelli managing director Malcolm Boyle.

"They look after the critical elements of delivering consistent quality, ensuring corporate visibility, meeting the needs of employees and emphasising their New Zealand identity. It's a winning formula."

Mr Boyle said that to win respect, a company had to deliver quality goods and services, but it could enhance its standing by developing strategies which emphasised their origins and connected with their communities.

The Warehouse retained its lead in a previous survey in 1999, with a score of 7.3 of 10. It was most popular with people over 50 and couples with no children at home.

Hubbard Foods ranked second with a score of 7.1 and Cadbury Confectionery ranked third with a score of 6.8 points.

The most dramatic change in company ratings went to TelstraClear, which as Clear Communications in 1999 scored 6.3 points but dropped to 5.0 points in the current survey.

Sky Television registered the most impressive rise in respect, moving from 5.1 points in 1999 to 5.8 in 2002.

The average score for companies in 2002 was 5.8 points, up from 5.7 points in 1999, which suggested an increasing level of satisfaction with corporates.

NFO managing director Murray Campbell said that since 1999, the centre of the dot-com era, there had been a significant swing in attitudes towards substance, particularly among young adults.

"There's been a shift in what people value. The companies we admire haven't changed, but our reasons for admiring them have.

"Qualities such as innovation and forward thinking were seen to be less significant by people aged 18-29 years.

"However, innovation isn't dead as a desirable attribute -- it's just that the promise of innovation isn't enough. Youth is looking for more substance," Mr Campbell said.

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