Chrisco offers rescue package for Mrs Christmas customers

Looks like a smart move of Chrisco. If they can take over a great number of Mrs Christmas customers, the value of Mrs Christams goes down. If Chrisco is one of the potential buyers, they might buy it for a song. If I was one of the potential buyers, and not Chrisco, I would step out. Customers that do not switch to Chrisco might loose of the business does not get sold. The only one that gains here, as usual, is the liquidator.

Gutted just saw it on the news i have a balance of around $400 towards Christmas its our Gas and Food Savings...dont want to goto Chriscos as they dont offer PaknSave Vouchers like Mrs Xmas does/did...what does this mean for my savings?only last week i rang Mrs Cgristmas to change my order they said nothing about any problems...have tried all christmas companys in the past and this one was by far the best for what they offered...well that will teach me i guess:(

I have little faith in that liquidator! I'll be taking Mr Bradley up on his offer

As a chrisco customer of over 5 years i am disgusted in the way people are slagging Chrisco, when they are the only company offering any support or hope of a christmas this year to the customers of Mrs Christmas in the event that another buyer is not found. Chrisco have always delivered me and my family a delightful christmas and being such a well established company there seems to be very little chance of them facing a similar situation to what Mrs Christmas is facing. In my view Hampsta does not have that much to offer and whose to say that they will still be operating in the years to come? I have no doubt that Chrisco will be around for a long time yet.

If hampsta are not around in years to come.. you will get ya money back. Well done on helping pay for the $35 million Chrisco house! Did you go to the house warming?

As Marcus Lush said on Live, if you want to have a'drunken BBQ' go with Dampsta. Me, I fancy other companies cos of variety.

It's hard for Hampsta to argue that they are a better bet than Chrisco. They've been around for 5 minutes and have yet to prove themselves at all. Chrisco have been going for yonks, so do you trust Johnny-come-lately or the tried and true?

I'm 22, I've got 13 kiids to 4 different muthas. I have been pudding 20 bucks a month into Mr Krissmuss and now I will loose it all. Im guted man. Wot abut my cash that I wurked to haad to get from the dole?

hey guys use your brain - look at the structure of hampsta - it is the safest way - the money is locked down, and it has the backing of some great companies and directors - also you choose what you want, not some stupid hamper that is sold to you at full retail, and then purchased for a huge discount. just look at the price comparison on TV they advertise - that shows where they are at. it does not matter that the guy from Chrisco has big house - who cares, it is just that Hampsta has a better business model

...from all this is that people have options. Open your eyes, read all the fine print (and they all have fine print), and do what works for you. There is no right or wrong answer here. NZ'ers are educated people, who are smart enough to make their own educated decisions about where they put their money when they want to think ahead about Christmas time. And good on all people who do think ahead...

I have been a Chrisco customer for many years, and will keep on going for many more.
After saving all year with Chrisco for what me and my family choose, and then to get it delivered to my door, and to see the expressions on my kids faces is PRICELESS....With Hampsta's you pay all year, for what to still go and do your own shopping. They charge fee's to join, fee's if you don't order the following year.
Every year Christmas with Chrisco is stress free, shopping done, presents wrapped so there's more time for me to spend with my family.

the real issue here is that Mrs Christmas have gone into liquidation and there is now a high possibility that all their customers are facing the fact that there is a huge chance all their hard saved money has gone and Mrs Christmas will not be able to provide them with the christmas they had planned for.

So far from reading all the available articles i have come to the following conclusions:

Mrs Christmas will not be fullfilling their promise to deliver the christmas hampers their customers have saved for.

Hampsta have jumped on this as an opportunity to rub salt into the wounds of mrs christmas owners, investors, employees and customers alike as well as trying to drag Chrisco thru the mud for no good reason other than to try and make themselves look better, when in fact all Hampsta are doing are making themselves look pathetic and low , and lets be serious who would want to sign up with a company that uses such tactics?

And finally ..

Chrisco have never used slander to try to promote themselves, all they seem to have done is to offer hope to the thousands of Mrs Christmas customers in such a terrible time, and there is no way you could find fault in that? They have never once said that Mrs Christmas is a "bad company" they have only offered support, and for that i commend Richard Bradley and his team! After all isnt that what New Zealand is about?

People helping people in their time of need

is that by moving to Chrisco, Mrs Christmas are jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. We've seen one of these companies go bust, and there's every chance we'll see it again. Until people see that they're money isn't protected by anything more than a promise , hamper customers are leaving themselves wide open to gett burnt again, and again and again.

Sure it's offering Mrs Christmas customers hope, and it's nice noble gesture, but isn't it kind of like trying to fix a severed artery with a plaster? If you want your money to be safe, and you want to GUARANTEE there'll be something there at Christmas, there are better options than hamper schemes.

hampsta has the money with Public Trust. No need to worry! I would be worried if it was in RB's hands.

Businesses go into liquidtaion every day. This is a non story. Hampsta it seems is being opportunistic to promote in my mind their own flawed busniness model. Chrisco do not have to do anything for the customers of a competitor. That they are is honourable and beyond any requirement. Further to that we should celebrate business success in NZ. If the founder of Chrisco chooses to build a $35m house then good on him. All that money went back into the NZ economy helping local trades. He has built a successful business employing many NZ's and Australians, I imagine pays a lot of tax and earns foreign exchange. All success to him. Our country needs more entrepreneurs to grow new business here and overseas, so we can drag this country out of it's appaling OECD rankings.