1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,600 Speaker 1: First though, news just in in the Herald is that 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Smith and Coe has just announced it will close for good. 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: It will close its doors for the final time within 4 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:10,959 Speaker 1: the next ten weeks, by July the thirty first. Now, 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: this is going to mean a loss of one hundred 6 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: jobs and also the end of one hundred and forty 7 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: five years of history. Smith and Coey, if you've been 8 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: following this, have obviously tried to make it work lately. 9 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: They've kept the Queen Street store going. They've tried to 10 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: curate the collection there. They closed the New Market store, 11 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: but it hasn't worked, and they say, unfortunately the foot 12 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: traffic on Queen Street is significantly lower than it was 13 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: this time last year. It's very very sad news, Heather 14 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: do for see Allen, Right, remember all those businesses telling 15 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: themselves they just have to survive till twenty five, Well, 16 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: it sounds like they may now be telling themselves they 17 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:44,520 Speaker 1: need to hang on till twenty six. The EMA says 18 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: it's received a huge number of queries over four hundred 19 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: from businesses in the first three months of the year, 20 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: all wandering about restructuring and redundancies. EMA's head of Advocacy, 21 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,639 Speaker 1: Alan McDonald, is with me now, Hey Allen, Hey, ever, 22 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: what about the news about Smith and Coey Oh. 23 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 2: That's a real shame. I mean that's been part of 24 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 2: the Auckland landscape for as you say, one hundred and 25 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 2: forty odd years, that's slightly older than the NA Actually yeah, 26 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 2: I mean there's one hundred people losing their jobs. 27 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: That's snuggod case in point exactly what you were talking 28 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: about here, which is that businesses just cannot hold on 29 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: through this. 30 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's you know, there's been a lot of good 31 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 2: news and I think you're talking earlier about the export 32 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 2: numbers and things like that, but it's still really really 33 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 2: tough on the ground, and business conferdence is going up. 34 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 2: Some of the indicators are turning, but that's not what's 35 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 2: happening on the ground. We've seen, unfortunately, a record number 36 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 2: of inquiries around restructuring and redundancy in the first quarter. 37 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: What is it? Is it that they Is it that 38 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: people had sort of just been too optimistic about how 39 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: much of a recovery we would experience, or is it 40 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: that basically everything's just banked up and they had expected 41 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: to last until this point and then no longer. 42 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 2: Really? Yeah, I think there's a few things in there, 43 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 2: so I think really it's the combination of what six 44 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 2: or seven years of really tough economic conditions. I mean, 45 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: if you go back even pre COVID, you know, the 46 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 2: economy was turning down then then we had COVID. Then 47 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 2: we had supply chain shocks and inflation and high interest 48 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 2: rates and all of those things. And I think the 49 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 2: last resort play for a lot of businesses when they 50 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 2: look at their costs and all that is well, we're 51 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 2: going to have to restructure the number of people. And 52 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 2: that's what's happening. They are at that last chance to 53 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 2: leon if you like, and that's been reflected in some 54 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 2: of those numbers. 55 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: Trouble is, though, allan, isn't there a risk that business 56 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: is cut deep? They get rid of the people, they 57 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: try to cut down in terms of their size, and 58 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: then when the economy starts to recover, they find that 59 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: they're replacing those people. Is actually really hard. 60 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, we did see that post GFC actually where the 61 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 2: numbers of businesses closing continued to rise actually as the 62 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 2: economy improved, and that was the case, then people would 63 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,399 Speaker 2: cut too deep. So really it's about just making sure 64 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 2: that while you're kind of making those adjustments to right 65 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 2: size yourself. You don't leave yourself short of capabilities and 66 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 2: skills and capacity when things do turn. And that's a 67 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: very fine balance and that's where organizations like ourselves and 68 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 2: others can help. 69 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: What's on your wish list for tomorrow? You must have something. 70 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,119 Speaker 2: Well, there's been a lot of hints dropped about something 71 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 2: around the accelerated depreciation and I think that would be 72 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 2: really good for a small business economy. The one that 73 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 2: maybe in the frame is just raising that threshold on expenses. 74 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 2: So it's currently in one thousand in Australia, it's twenty thousand. 75 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 2: I don't think we'll go that high, but something that 76 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 2: either one of those areas would be great, even if 77 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 2: it's just a simplication, not a big headline number. Yeah, 78 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 2: that would help with the confidence. 79 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: Good stuff. Hey Allen, always lovely to talk to you. 80 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Allan McDonald, head of Advocacy Amays. 81 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 2: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to 82 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 2: news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 83 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.