The Warehouse gets a bargain with $1m branding makeover

The Warehouse is spending $1 million to replace its 23-year-old logo.

As new logos go it is likely the company has got a bargain - the new look was designed completely in-house.

The company will not give out pictures of the new sign until it is on a building - the first is expected go up at the company's Te Rapa "laboratory" store today.

But Warehouse chief executive Ian Morrice said the new look would be a modernised version of the current logo, keeping parts that are highly recognisable like the bright red colour and the yellow flashes.

The tagline "Where Everyone Gets a Bargain" will still feature, but in a handwritten script to convey informality.

Customers said the old logo - the company name in blocky white lettering with a black 3D shadow - did not accurately represent the more modern offers and higher-quality products in stores.

"The modernisation of the logo supports the positive changes to our products and our stores," Morrice said.

It will take between a year to 18 months to rebrand the 85-store network. Seven stores are set to have the new signs before year's end.

But Morrice said customers would notice changes inside stores before Christmas.

The cost of new signs is covered by money already set aside to modernise and refurbish stores, so the one-off $1 million operating expense relates only to the rebranding of things such as bags, stationery and uniforms.

A significant part of that would have been spent on replacements anyway.

Morrice said The Warehouse had researched six options for the new logo with more than 300 of its customers.

"This logo was the preferred option for its simplicity and modern, informal feel, but is very much still The Warehouse."

The move comes on top of significant changes to the look of the stores, which were introduced at Te Rapa in July, rationalisation of house brands and updated advertising.

The well-known Kiwi mascot does not feature in the current ads. Morrice said the company was evaluating how best to use the mascot.

The changes are meant to improve the presentation of a wider range of higher-quality, more stylish goods than the company has offered in the past. But elements of the past will be kept.

"The Warehouse will always be a low-cost, no-frills environment," Morrice said. "We also will keep the red and yellow as these have become synonymous with The Warehouse and we do not want to lose our powerful brand statement of Where Everyone Gets a Bargain."

Initial customer feedback for the changes had been very positive.