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A difficult retail environment has forced children's clothing company Pumpkin Patch to slash 30 jobs at its Auckland head office.
The company said yesterday that it was making 30 of its 400 staff redundant - the largest number of job losses in the company's 18-year-history.
Chief financial officer Matthew Washington said wage costs were significant to any retailer, and the company needed to trim expenses as it headed into what was expected to be a difficult retailing year in all global markets. He said the 30 roles were spread over all aspects of head office operations. Most finished this week.
Washington said the move was not a response to the global credit crisis. The company had enough "headroom" with its existing facilities to carry on with its present strategy for the next two years. "We've got no concerns. This is totally unrelated to anything to do with the financial crisis. This is just more a reflection of what's happening in the consumer or retail space."
No additional job cuts were planned, said Washington, and the redundancies would not affect the company's day-to-day retail operations and long-term strategy.
The company last month reported a 27.5 per cent contraction in full-year earnings. Net profit after tax was $17.1 million, despite a 12.3 per cent increase in operating revenue to $410.4 million.
It said overall results had been hit hard by higher interest charges and quota costs, as well as the difficult United States retail environment.
Pumpkin Patch, which started as a one-store, mail order firm in 1990, now has 228 stores in New Zealand, Australia, Britain and US. Its shares yesterday closed at $1.30, down 3c.
