Time for another update on the Martin adventure
The past few months at work have been really intense with a lot achieved in a short space of time. The global recession has started to really take root in New Zealand with shoppers holding back on spending, particularly on luxury items. Auckland stores however have improved in all areas and I now have a team of Managers and stores that I can be proud of and that will build a sustainable platform for growth going forward.
On the home front, the family are doing great and the boys are growing at an alarming rate. I can’t believe how big Corey is getting and how his personality is changing. Where has my baby boy gone? This year he has really started to get the Kiwi rugby bug and started to support the Auckland Blues Rugby team which play in the Super 14 league. This is a mixture of Australian, South African and New Zealand teams and is without doubt the most competitive and physical league in the world. We went to many games this year and Corey was over the moon when we got to meet the team and get all of their autographs. Rugby is a religion here, similar to soccer in the UK, however the game is much more in touch with the supporters and is better managed. This means that kids like Corey have access to meeting their heroes and All Black legends regularly without any egos or security getting in the way. As for me, I was more interested in talking to the Cheerleaders!!
Dylan also continues to thrive and I was really proud to watch him be awarded “Head of Academic Council” for his school year. He is also going through a lot of changes both physically and emotionally as he is making the transition into “the dreaded teenage years”, however he has really impressed me with his focus and his maturity. I don’t just have a son anymore; I also have a best friend.
His new role has opened up more learning opportunities for him and he has attended leadership courses to help him. Dylan also had a major project on Entrepreneurship and how to start a business. Not being shy, he asked me if I could “have a word” with Sir Stephen Tindall, the founder of The Warehouse to see if he could interview him. I sent Stephen an email, expecting him to be much too busy as he spends a lot of his time travelling as an Ambassador for his charity “The Tindall Foundation” which is dedicated to giving help to New Zealanders in need. He emailed me straight back and was more than happy to meet with Dylan. What a fantastic man who exemplifies what is great about the business he built. Dylan was very excited and proud to meet such a charismatic but also humble man and he learnt a lot not only about business but also about character. We were also delighted and proud when Stephen was knighted in July for his services to New Zealand - it was a great honour for a great person.
Dylan’s friend Mike, from the UK, came to visit us in April and we took the opportunity to do some travelling and exploring. We headed back down to Lake Taupo as there were a lot of areas we hadn’t seen on our last trip. We went hiking, climbing and a lot of other physical activity which I’m still recovering from. But once again this beautiful country just blows me away around every corner. We climbed to the top of Mount Ngauruhoe which was fantastic, another extinct volcano. Although there were still warning signs about tremors and gas explosions which were slightly alarming considering they were at the top of the mountain - so there wasn’t a lot we could do about it! The views were breathtaking, and the terrain was almost moon like due to the volcanic rock formations.
We also visited Huka Falls in Taupo which is New Zealands most visited natural tourist attraction. At the Huka Falls, the Waikato River, which is normally 100m wide, is squeezed through a 20 metre wide gorge and over a 20m drop. Every second up to 220,000 litres of water gushes through the gorge and shoots out over 8 metres beyond to create a beautiful blue/green pool. The name Huka is the Maori word for ‘foam’, which is appropriate as the falling water and rapids certainly resembles foam, Dylan said that it reminded him of the scene in Lord of the Rings when the river rose up and swallowed the Ringwraiths that were chasing Frodo.
This year has also seen a major project completed in work. The Warehouse landed “Project Invigorate” which was a focus on putting the right people in the right place at the right time to serve the customer. This was a massive piece of work and incorporated a complete change to way that The Warehouse operated in the stores, how the management teams behaved and how the teams served the customer.
Every store and every team member was affected and it took almost 3 months to roll out in Auckland. I was very proud with how my teams handled the change and the support I got from the project teams. To celebrate, I got the Store Managers and the Project team together and we had a great day running an Amazing Race around Auckland, finishing off with a barbeque. We all had a fantastic night.
Another night of note was the “Big Night In” Telethon which was a charity event for the Kids Can charity which supports under privileged children in NZ. The Warehouse was platinum sponsors of this event. It was a full weekend of TV events and was broadcast live on TV3. It’s very similar to the Children in Need night that the BBC run in the UK. I volunteered for the Friday night and was put in charge of “Door Security” due to my small frame and very shy personality!
On the run up to the event, The Warehouse stores were a frenzy of fund raising activities and we had some amazing pledges from the stores. In total The Warehouse raised nearly $500k which was a quarter of the total $2 million raised. I had an absolute ball on the door, rubbing shoulders with the TV elite of New Zealand and getting to meet some great people. I was also very proud to play my part in the event. The highlight was getting to meet Richie MaCaw, the All Blacks Captain and although this is hard to say for an Irishman, the best back row forward in the world.
Life continues to roll along but better to roll in a beautiful environment, working for a fantastic company, watching your children thrive and excel.
It couldn’t get much better!!!
