Warehouse boss shares successes
As the boss of one of New Zealand’s biggest retail chains, Sir Stephen Tindall knows all about success.
But, as he told an audience during a visit to New Plymouth yesterday, he also knows about failure – it’s a topic he said he could go on about for three hours.
‘‘The biggest learning is investing in the right people,’’
Tindall, who founded The Warehouse in
1982, told an invited audience during a lunch at the
Devon Hotel.
‘‘There has been a couple of organisations that we invested in that were run by certain people that initially looked like it was all going to be fine, but it turned out not to be. And not only did they fail in terms of the operation and lose us money there, but then they tried to sue us as well.’’
His response came in answer to a question from Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chief executive Arun Chaudhari, who wanted to know Tindall’s biggest learning curve.
Tindall was in New Plymouth to celebrate generosity and giving in Taranaki. He was at an event put on by his own charity, The Tindall Foundation, in partnership with the Te Karaka Foundation, a Taranaki charity.
He shared his experiences and successes with his foundation, a charity he set up with his wife Margaret in 1994, and what they were currently working on.
Current investments include rocket launches and a halter that trains dairy cows.
He said people didn’t have to have a lot to be generous. ‘‘If you are making up your will and you have a house worth $700,0000 or $500,000 and you have two kids, there isn’t much difference in leaving 100 per cent to them and leaving 90 per cent. Think about what that 10 per cent could do for someone else.’’