The Warehouse Group is pausing the majority of its advertising spending for the next eight weeks, shortly after confirming the removal of 270 jobs from its head office.

The discount retailer’s chief marketing officer, Frankie Coulter, said the strategy is a necessary one, as the company battles against high losses.

“The Warehouse needs a big revival, and to do that, we’ll need to make some big calls. Our first step is to hit pause on most of our advertising spend and rely on our own channels for the next eight weeks,” Coulter said. 

“As a well-known value retailer who wants to keep prices low and invest in stores, we need to figure out what will really resonate with the 1.5 million Kiwis who already shop with us each week and for the rest of New Zealand.”

The company’s head office layoffs are expected to bring $70 million in savings over the next 5 years. 

Coulter added: “We’ll continue to celebrate and promote big in-store moments that Kiwis love from us like Mothers’ Day and Easter, while testing and learning whether the dollars we spend on advertising are making a difference for our customers, or whether we could do something better with that money. 

“I’ve joined the business at a critical time as we work to win back Kiwis’ hearts and get our stores buzzing. I think how The Warehouse team shows up in Aotearoa will matter, whether that’s at a local sports game, a sausage sizzle, or on TV, and supporting local media, events, and communities will be part of that.”