Whitcoulls undone by debt ...

Extra security has been hired for Borders and Whitcoulls stores as staff face aggressive customers angry about conditions placed on redeeming gift vouchers.

Freeze comes a day after the Government ordered a review of whether the local market was working well for consumers.

Whitcoulls customers are venting their anger at the book chain, which put itself into voluntary administration last night, as it tells voucher holders they must spend the amount specified on their voucher with cash or credit cards before th

Whitcoulls customers are being told to get in now and redeem their gift vouchers or face them becoming worthless if the company goes into receivership. Customers with vouchers or gift cards have been told today they must buy the same value

Voluntary administration - which Whitcoulls is now in - has about a 4 per cent success rate, says a New Zealand insolvency specialist.

The future of Whitcoulls - one of NZ's most famous and enduring retail chains - is in jeopardy after administrators were called in last night to run the book-retailing business.

Westfield Group delivered 2010 earnings in line with expectations amid improving global retail markets, but said it was too early to ramp up existing plans for new development investment of up to A$1 billion ($1.3 billion) a year.

We need better shop verandas and input from property moguls and their tenants.

Fair trade certified products are booming in NZ, despite rising food prices and low consumer confidence, latest figures reveal.

The latest household spending survey shows Kiwi women collectively part with $208 million for shoes and $809 million on clothing each year.

Rachel Hunter's modelling career kicked off in one of Tip Top's ads when she was just 15. It was the mid-1980s and a Trumpet cost 95c.

Finance Minister Bill English confirmed today the Government is concerned about a double-dip recession, echoing Prime Minister John Key's caution in the face of weak employment figures and a fast-slowing Australian economy.

After a long period of gloom, retailers are welcoming news from Stats NZ that January saw the largest monthly increase in electronic card spending for five years.