The doors are back open after two terrible days at Auckland department store Smith and Caughey's.
It closed its doors on Wednesday to allow staff to process news the business would be shutting down.
On the same day, the store was hit by a cyber-attack which immobilised all their systems.
"We activated a response plan and a dedicated team of experts has worked swift to restore our systems to enable us to reopen our stores," said Tony Caughey, the company's chairman.
On Wednesday, he said the company had begun a consultation process with its 240 staff about the potential closure of its retail operations in Queen St and Newmarket, and online retail stores, likely in early 2025.
The proposal will be under consultation for about five weeks.
"Presenting this proposal has been a deeply emotional time for the people connected to this historic establishment. We are acutely mindful of the impact on staff, customers and suppliers by the proposal," Caughey said.
Caughey said the business had operated as a cornerstone of retail excellence on Queen St for 144 years. No decision has been made yet on what they'll do with the iconic building if the proposal goes ahead.
He thanked stakeholders for their patience while the systems were offline.
"Our stakeholders have recognised that this significant incident is not representative of our usual communication standards with those vital to our business," said Caughey.
"This has been an emotional period for everyone connected to our company and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers and business partners during this challenging time."
