RUBY Says Tag On 02.04.26

Well Rubettes, here we are.

A war that is difficult to comprehend the purpose of, that affects SO MANY PEOPLE, in SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS

Firstly I want to extend my love to all of those who have family directly affected by what is happening in the Middle East. If you haven’t already read Mina Rezai’s The Best Is Yet To Come we published last week, I recommend it. I also acknowledge the many others who are deeply impacted by the ongoing atrocities across the world.

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Secondly, I have a similar feeling to when COVID started spreading in 2020, or after the Auckland floods in 2023. A cracking apart of a normality I hadn’t fully comprehended how to question. Right now I’m thinking fuel? Food? Country grinding to a halt? But I’m still not sure that I am quite getting to the MOST IMPORTANT question?

One of the good things about going from significant crises to significant crises in quick succession is I have learned how to manage myself through fear and uncertainty. I know how to seek out the information that I need to be able to give my team, and you all clarity. I am actively doing this through the advocacy channels available to us like our membership organisations such as Mindful Fashion and RetailNZ, as well as reading reading reading a thousand articles.

But, as you are probably also finding, gaining clarity is…elusive.

This is where my knowledge of when and how to create our own clarity – for our team and for you all – kicks in. When we do this, whether it’s an action we take, or just being upfront about where we are at right now, can add a sense of connection, and joy – even if it’s something tiny in the face of something so large.

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With the new financial year starting on APRIL FOOL’S DAY, we have just completed our strategic planning phase, and are now in execution phase my baybees!

Our overarching vision is that RUBY is the best place to work, and that we offer you the best experience – whether you shop with us, supply us, are a charity partner or enjoy our comms.

This emerging reality doesn’t change our vision. But what it feels like, and what we actually DO, might be different. We’re nimble! Like ballerinas!

I would love to hear from you about what you want from us, but in the meantime, a lil boost:

RUBY Says Tag On ~

From Saturday 4th April to Sunday 12th April, if you use public transport and visit one of our IRL stores on the same day, we will remove the cost of the fare from your purchase. See more info here.

Please know that I am woefully aware of the major gaps in public transport in New Zealand, so this won’t work for all of you. Fear not – we are scheming for you too so watch this (reminder! we genuinely do want to hear from you about what you would like to see from us)

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Many of you have cancelled your Easter vay-cay trips because of the uncertainty around fuel, or your finances. SO here are some ideas for things you can do, using things you can probably fossick out around home:

From a community perspective, we’re shifting our GoGenerosity donation at checkout to Foodbank New Zealand.

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From a team perspective, we are thinking about how to ensure RUBY is the best place to work through a few lenses:

Equity – we are spread across Aotearoa, and the actual work we each do is quite different

Simplicity – it’s got to be easy to understand and execute

Financial responsibility – we are staring down the barrel of a potentially even more challenging retail environment than last year

We are in conversations this week with each of our team members to find out from them what will be most helpful. Here are some of the ideas we are kicking around:

Regular WFH days, and off peak start/stop times

Equity: pretty bad. Half of our team are based in our IRL stores, and many of our HQ team need to actually be in HQ to do their jobs

Simplicity: not bad. Complexity comes from whether we can retail the collaborative working style that is important to us when we’re working from home

Financial responsibility: pretty good

Incentivising public transport or ride sharing through subsidies or other benefits

Equity: not great – not all of our team live in areas where public transport is regular, reliable and efficient enough for this to help

Simplicity: not bad

Financial responsibility: likely will add cost – is this the best place to add it?

~

You’re probably going to be hearing from me a lil bit more frequently over the coming weeks, but for now, my love to you all,

Em

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