Christchurch Earthquake Update

 TEAM UPDATE – Saturday 24th December 2011 11.00 AM 

Christchurch has been struck by a further series of earthquakes and aftershocks yesterday and through last night. Below is an update for our Christchurch  team. 

Firstly everyone here at The Warehouse wants our Christchurch colleagues to know how much we feel for them. Words can’t express our thoughts for you all. 

The most important thing for you to know is that your wellbeing and safety comes first. As our affected stores reopen, if you or your family are uncomfortable about you coming to work, we want you to stay home. You will be paid for any time that you were scheduled to work. 

We also do understand how much our customers will be relying on us and we are doing our best to reopen stores as quickly as possible for them. We also understand and appreciate the pride that our team have in their stores and their desire to get them trading again.

Ashburton and Rolleston were unaffected and have traded normally. 

Rangiora, Riccarton, Hornby, South City and Barrington have been checked, cleaned up and are now open. 

Eastgate, Northlands and Belfast have been checked but require a bit more clean up. Those stores should be open by 12 noon. 

Warehouse Stationery at Belfast is open now. Riccarton and Papanui will be open by 12 noon. Linwood has sustained damage to its suspended ceiling and it is unclear when it will reopen. 

The South Island Distribution Centre is unaffected and remains in operation. However, again, team members who feel unable to come to work for family or personal reasons should remain at home until they feel able to return to work. 

A huge thank you to all team members, many of whom were not scheduled to work, who have come in to help ready our stores to meet our customers’ needs on Christmas Eve. 

We have contacted or left messages for the vast majority  of our team members based in the Christchurch area to check that they and their families are fine and to ascertain their needs. The few remaining people who we have been unable to contact will be followed through this morning, either from Store Support Office or by their management team. A number of team members have had property and other impacts and we have been able to help those in most urgent need, either directly or through our friends at the Salvation Army. 

If any team member or their family would like urgent assistance from the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) please contact Andrew Bhimy  (contact number 021 951 433) or talk to your manager. 

No further updates are planned at this stage. The Warehouse wishes our team everywhere, but especially in Christchurch, a Merry Christmas.