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Clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson has delayed moving its womenswear buying operations to Melbourne - six months after announcing the decision as part of its Australian expansion strategy.
The company will instead move the Glasson buying team from its Christchurch base to Auckland - a signal that Australia is being shelved in favour of protecting New Zealand market share.
Acting chief executive Roy Dillon said the decision had to be reassessed in light of difficult trading conditions.
"Our commitment to having a buying presence in Melbourne has not changed. However, we have had to reconsider whether the planned timing and extent of the Melbourne move were right for the business given the significant change in the retail environment in the interim."
Hallenstein Glasson followed the fashion of other listed retailers earlier this month, posting a 6.7 per cent downturn in first quarter sales and warning that half-year profit was expected to be "considerably below" the previous year's $9.2 million.
Dillon said the new Auckland office would carry out Glasson's buying, marketing and visual merchandising roles from early 2009.
It will continue to buy for both New Zealand and Australia, but will be overseen by Tali Kalb, its Melbourne-based general manager of merchandise.
She will look after product direction and buying for both countries, he said.
Kalb, ex-merchandising director of Australian retailer Jeanswest, was an appointee of former chief executive Shayne Quanchi, who resigned in September after barely six months in the job.
The company said then that her reasons were personal, citing the amount of time she was having to spend in New Zealand, and the disruption it was causing to her family life.
Melbourne-based Quanchi made it clear to the Business Herald in March where she saw the company's main growth opportunities. She said the company's 25 Glasson stores in Australia had struggled with cut-through in a crowded market - and part of that problem was its Christchurch base.
"There's not a lot of inspiration [there], you could say. I think we need to be around our direct competitors all the time. There's far more inspiration in Australia."
But Dillon said strong headwinds have forced the company to wind back these plans.
"We believe the Auckland move will provide Glasson with greater exposure to the fashion direction and growth potential of New Zealand's largest and most diverse market."
Hallenstein Glasson shares closed down 2c at $2.28 yesterday.
