The iconic Southland store chain H and J Smith has confirmed it will shut up shop in November after a four-week decision process.
More than 200 people will lose their jobs as H and J Smith department stores called time after 123 years of trading.
Blaming a change in shoppers' habits, supply chain issues and old earthquake-prone buildings, the doors will be closed for good by Christmas.
Normally open seven days a week, on Tuesday the doors to H and J Smith's department stores were firmly locked. Come November 18, the stores in Invercargill, Gore and Queenstown will be closed forever.
"[I'm] disappointed in having to make this decision because I've worked with these people for 28 years of my working career so they are like a family," H and J Smith group managing director Jason Smith said.
The decision comes after 123 years of trading, and a month-long consultation process.
Although the business is profitable today, the H and J Smith group said the need to remediate earthquake-prone buildings, the hangover from COVID-19, and ongoing supply chain issues mean the future is bleak.
"[Our] ability to curate and gather a range of products for our customers, we believe, will be significantly diminished which means we won't have a sustainable business in the future," Smith said.
Changes in shoppers' behaviour are a sign of the times.
"Department stores are always going to have a role in the retail landscape. In New Zealand the challenge is in small markets, it's hard for independent stores to sustain themselves," Retail New Zealand's chief executive officer Greg Harford said.
The Invercargill store's closing will leave a 12,000-square-metre hole in the inner city.
Locals said the loss will create an enormous hole in the town, and in a building that’s been buzzing for so long.
However, the 220 jobs lost will hit harder.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark said he understands the commercial decision that H and J Smith Group had to make.
He said the Invercargill employment sector won't be hit too hard following the cut.
"We've got quite a lot of vacant positions, especially in hospitality. I think there will be lots of jobs around," Clark said.
But this icon of Southland won't be, as the end of an era comes for H and J Smith.
