Fifteen minutes.
That’s how quickly one manager of an Auckland Warehouse Extra said te Wiki o te Reo Māori merchandise, which the Warehouse created in collaboration with Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori, sold out in the weekend.
But the man behind the collaboration said the sight of the merch selling out so quickly was “so overwhelming ... I went back to my car, I sat down, and I had a little tangi (cry)”.
“It was emotionally overwhelming to see the kaupapa that we’d worked on with Te Taura Whiri, and internally, within our team, to get this range going really quickly. To see the public response, I was overwhelmed.”
Troy Rawhiti-Connell, pou whakawhanake Māori / Māori development lead at the Warehouse Group, says it’s a demonstration of the company’s ability to serve the community.
“Being able to take that to the next level and give a range of kākahu that people love, that was really motivating for me.”
It’s part of an effort from the Warehouse group to add more reo Māori to New Zealanders’ lives, including on products and in-store signage.
“I’ve done my part to drive it, and to help our business understand it, and also to get the process better over time, as well.
“Going from an earnest start, where we’ve gone, ‘this is important to our communities, it’s important to our team, it’s important to everyone who interacts with Te Ware Whare’.
Troy pauses briefly to consider what he just said.
“I mean that, in and of itself, that we get called 'Te Ware Whare’ says there’s an expectation on us to deliver in te reo Māori.”
He said the incredible demand for official merchandise for te Wiki o te Reo Māori is “a really strong affirmation for a product that is really natural to Aotearoa, to our customers, and what The Warehouse stands for.
“It just fits like ... fits like a hoodie, doesn’t it.”
On the topic of when the merch might be back on shelves, Troy had no solid answer, but promised it was a “when, not if”.
Te Taura Whiri ‘thrilled’
Among the supporters of the Warehouse’s collaboration with Te Taura Whiri was Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka.
“Wetiweti te kite i tērā āhuatanga me te tokopai tokomaha ngā tāngata e ngana ana ki te whakātu i tō rātou oati ki tō tātou reo Māori. Ki ngā hāte, ki ngā kāmeta, ki ngā pōtae. Te aha rānei.”
It is amazing to see the kindness and goodness of many people who are trying to show their commitment in our Māori language from shirts, scarves, hats, all of the above.
According to the Māori Language Commission’s chief executive, Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr, years of growing calls for merchandise led to the decision.
“Kua tupu ake te hiahia o te iwi whānui ki ngā poraka, me te nui o te moni kia mātou ki te whakaputa i aua poraka. Nō reirā, i puta te whakaaro kia rapa haere i tētehi kamupene hei āwhina mai i a mātou ki te whakaputa i ngā kākahu.”
There has been a growing public interest for our jerseys, and the amount of money we have to produce them. From there, we came up with the idea to get a company to help us produce the clothes.
Although there were doubts the Māori-branded clothing would sell, those fears were pushed aside after the clothing started gaining traction. Even MPs couldn’t resist.
“Kāre mātou i mōhio i pērā rawa te hiahia o te iwi na te mea i pou katoa i roto i ngā toa i te kotahi haora i te Rāhoroi kua taha ake nei.”
We didn’t know it was so popular until it was all sold out in one hour last Saturday.