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ISSUE 06 ·LIVE NOW
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ISSUE 06 / 2026-08-26
Kowhai Retail Group
RETAILWORKING CAPITALDIFFICULTY 2/5 · 5 MIN
Fourteen homewares and gifting stores that make most of their year between Labour Weekend and Christmas Eve. Last Christmas didn't sell through — NZ$1.1m of it is still in the distribution centre — and the MD wants the seasonal facility lifted from NZ$2.0m to NZ$3.5m before the September orders ship.
Open the caseTHE REQUEST
Existing seasonalNZ$2.0m
RequestedNZ$3.5m
Decision byMid-September — orders ship
LAST YEAR'S LOOP
- It didn't close.
- NZ$1.1m of last season is still on the shelves.
- This year's buy is up 22%.
FY25 SNAPSHOT
SOURCE: COMPANY-PREPARED · UNAUDITED · COMPOSITE CASE — FICTIONAL
REVENUE
NZ$31m
▲+6% YoY
AGED STOCK
NZ$1.1m
▲18% of inventory
GROSS MARGIN
46%
▼from 51% (clearance)
THIS YEAR'S BUY
+22%
▲on an unsold year
OCF
NZ$0.4m
▼−60% YoY
FIGURES ROUNDED · FY25 (management accounts) · COMPOSITE CASE — FICTIONAL
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Inside Commercial Banking's Hidden Curriculum
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Commercial banking is defined less by technical content — learnable in a year — than by a specific way of looking at the world. Eight chapters and three appendices set out the frameworks senior bankers use and the dispositions they listen for.
BY MICHAEL SHANG · HIGHBANK PRESS
Paperback, ebook, and hardcover · First edition 2026 · 370 pages
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