A piece published earlier this month suggested that Trade Me had hit its peak, citing declining website interest, ageing consumers and problems such as duplicate listings. But Trade Me’s Logan Mudge and Rick Davies argue that’s far from the case. It’s easy to forget that when Trade Me launched back in 1999, e-commerce was a bizarre and somewhat … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Joe Harawira, founder of clothing company Flo, which donates a free school lunch to a child in need for every product sold. ONE: How did Flo start and what was the inspiration behind it? I … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In our regular Business Chat special, Simon Pound speaks with Maria Slade, business editor at The Spinoff, and Karyn Scherer, senior copywriter at Callaghan Innovation, about the business stories making the news this month. Either download this episode (right click … Read more
Influencers may promote your product for a fee, but loyalty is not included. Madeleine Chapman investigates the dessert box saga of 2018. It all began with a complaint. It wasn’t an exciting complaint. In fact, it was pretty boring as far as rants go. Someone bought a product online and found that the product she … Read more
The man embroiled in the scandal that saw Clare Curran sacked by Jacinda Ardern challenged an audience at AUT to think about their careers. Madeleine Chapman was there In an AUT function room at 5pm on a Thursday, Derek Handley, the man who was supposed to be New Zealand’s Chief Technology Officer, is speaking about … Read more
Cars, campervans and now food: There is no end to the sharing economy, and a serial entrepreneur is making your kitchen the scene of his latest venture. Business is what Daniel Kieser breathes, sleeps and eats. Literally. You might wonder why the South African-born entrepreneur wanted to launch his latest digital platform, Dine at Mine. … Read more
As Russell McVeagh hits the headlines again for inappropriate behaviour by a senior staff member, former lawyer Sacha Judd says time is up on the bullying, macho, sexist culture of the legal profession. This speech was given last night at the Auckland University Law Review Alumni Dinner. I was an editor of the Auckland University … Read more
After giving birth to her first child, personal trainer Niki Clarke discovered there was nothing for her to wear to the gym to accommodate her changed body and desire to breastfeed. So she decided to do something about it. In 2013, Nikki Clarke and her husband Adam were expecting their first child. They’re both personal … Read more
Following the death of a young wharfie there are claims Ports of Auckland is encouraging unsafe practices by paying bonuses for moving cargo faster, reports Maria Slade. Last month 23-year-old wharfie and father Laboom Dyer suffered fatal injuries when the straddle carrier he was driving tipped over at the Ports of Auckland. The tragedy has … Read more
Kerri Jackson reports from a future of work seminar and concludes that the good news is, with revolution comes huge opportunity. The bad news? The starter gun’s gone off and New Zealand business is still milling about. We’ve all had those heated dinner party discussions about whose job will soon be handed over to the robots, … Read more
The West Auckland Licensing Trusts Action Group (WALTAG) needs 28,000 signatures to force a vote over The Trusts’ monopoly on the sale of alcohol in its region. The Trusts’ chief executive Simon Wickham makes the case against change, arguing that West Aucklanders should think twice about hitting ‘delete’ on a system which delivers $2 million a … Read more
The West Auckland Licensing Trusts Action Group (WALTAG) needs 28,000 signatures to force a vote over The Trusts’ monopoly on the sale of alcohol in its region. WALTAG member Nick Smale makes the case for change, arguing that West Auckland suffers from the consequences of a blunt, out-dated approach to alcohol control. Read more: The case … Read more
The NZ governor general, lawyer Dame Patsy Reddy, called out the “egregious” behaviour her generation endured from male colleagues in a powerful speech at the Women of Influence awards last night. Disruption, she said, is the only way to effect change The 125th anniversary of suffrage in New Zealand is the ideal time to come … Read more
Will the latest review of our tax system be another instance of New Zealand dancing around a capital gains tax? Tax specialist Terry Baucher investigates. The news that the Tax Working Group’s interim report due out very shortly won’t specifically recommend a capital gains tax (CGT) begs the question: Is this the fifth such group … Read more
Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr witnessed the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) first-hand in the trading rooms of investment banks in Sydney and Singapore. Ten years on from the Lehman Brothers collapse, he recalls the mayhem of 2008 and ponders what we’ve learned. I’d never seen anything like it, and I hope I never see anything … Read more
The entrepreneur has written that he accepted an offer of the new position a month ago, but it has been rescinded following the controversy around a secret meeting with Clare Curran and criticisms of his suitability The controversy around Clare Curran’s use of a private email account and secret meetings, which resulted in her resignation … Read more
Here come the brides! Together Journal’s latest cover features a same-sex couple in what might just be a mainstream wedding world first, reports Maria Slade. A New Zealand-based magazine believes it’s the first mainstream wedding publication to feature a same-sex couple on the cover. Together Journal is a quarterly magazine founded by Kiwi businesswoman Greta Kenyon … Read more
Milk is practically white gold, right? Turns out not so much, with Fonterra announcing a huge loss for the year. Business editor Maria Slade explains why our biggest dairy company has lost so much money. Has our largest company really made its first ever loss? Yes. Fonterra Co-operative Group has announced a $196 million loss … Read more
Financial adviser Mike Warrington is warning his clients that investment properties are no longer the great little earners they once were. What does this mean for renters? Rental property investment is progressively being defined by our regulators as a commercial activity and as a result, will be impacted more heavily by future costs. In due … Read more
If NZ wants to continue to build the relationship with China, we need to get serious about the initiative that defines the country’s view of its place in the world, writes Stephen Jacobi of the NZ China Council Five years ago when he announced his grand vision for investment-led development along ancient trade routes linking … Read more
The Fitz has been closed for almost a decade and Palmy is no longer defined by student culture and sheep. Now it’s home to a new crop of innovators and startups who are thriving in the slower, more stable Manawatū business environment. Keri Welham talks to some of the key players shaping this North Island … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Jo Blair, founder and director of Brown Bread – a marketing and communications agency from Christchurch that focuses on championing the arts, philanthropy and social good. ONE: How did Brown Bread start and … Read more
New World announced this week they’re giving away plastic containers, and man oh man, the internet went wild. But was the hysteria justified? Oh plastic, plastic, plastic. Who knew this one flimsy material could cause so much of an online furore in 2018? On Monday, New World announced the launch of its new collectables initiative: … Read more
‘We call ourselves slow-fast fashion’. Ellen Falconer meets the young label working across hemispheres and subverting the traditional Fashion Week model. On a yacht moored in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour last Wednesday, a crowd of 50 fashionistas sipped gin cocktails and slipped their feet into towelling slides with the words ‘oh hej’ stitched across the top. … Read more
How e-commerce platforms can allow you to build a business from your bedroom, and why Trade Me now has some serious competition. E-commerce platforms Gone are the days where Kiwi businesses relied on bricks and mortar to sell their products. Today it’s normal to solely operate a business online. Online tools like e-commerce platforms and … Read more
H&M’s first multi storey experience in New Zealand opened to much fanfare last week as hundreds lined up to be one of the first to get a glimpse. Jihee Junn joined the masses on Thursday morning. Held at an offsite location in the heart of Grey Lynn, the Stolen Girlfriends Club show on Wednesday night … Read more
Entrepreneur Derek Handley looks set to be appointed as New Zealand’s first chief technology officer. Whoever gets the job, the mission needs to be clear, and the T in CTO can’t stand for talk, writes Nat Torkington Looks like NZ will get a CTO real soon now. It’s hard to avoid the word “debacle” in … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Human Interface Jewellery founder Amelia Diggle who’s melding fashion and technology together to create a new form of ‘wearable tech’. ONE: How did Human Interface Jewellery (HIJ) start and what was the inspiration behind it? HIJ … Read more
Entrepreneur Derek Handley is reportedly on the verge of being appointed the CTO of the whole country of New Zealand. And the tech community is not happy about that at all, reports Duncan Greive. Much of New Zealand’s tech community has reacted with derision to a report entrepreneur Derek Handley is all-but-certain to soon be … Read more