Sir Stephen Tindall to step down from The Warehouse board

Sir Stephen Tindall will step down from the board of The Warehouse, which he founded.

The Warehouse said Tindall, the company's biggest shareholder, and other long-standing director Keith Smith, are retiring by rotation and will not seek re-election at the group's annual meeting on November 27.

Tindall, who has been on a leave of absence from the board since 2017, and Smith, the group's deputy chair, will both step down as directors in November, after serving since 1982 and 1988 respectively.

Current chair Joan Withers thanked the pair for their efforts in governing the business through a period of ongoing change, increasing competition and massive technological developments.

"Sir Stephen is one of New Zealand's most well-known and highly respected businessmen," she said in a statement.

"His ingenuity and entrepreneurship in founding The Warehouse Group and introducing affordable products in the 1980s, at a time when what we would now regard as necessities were out of the reach of many New Zealanders and his generosity and philanthropic efforts alongside Lady Margaret Tindall through The Tindall Foundation are admired and acknowledged by New Zealanders."

During Tindall's absence from the board, he had focused on his leadership of Team New Zealand, K1W1 - a fund that invests in early-stage New Zealand businesses - The Tindall Foundation, as well as other interests.

In that time, Tindall's son Robbie had acted as his alternate on The Warehouse Group board.

Smith indicated in 2017 that he would not be seeking re-election at the end of this term.

He began his directorship with the group in 1988 as its first Chair.

Since then he has seen the business acquire and grow to a portfolio of six brands, including Noel Leeming and TheMarket.

Tindall is still the biggest shareholder in The Warehouse, with 27 per cent. His Tindall Foundation is the second biggest holder with 21.3 per cent, according to the latest annual report.