Fate of Smith & Caughey’s decided

Tuesday, 6 August 2024

Smith & Caughey’s has been saved from closure and will operate in a reduced capacity.

The store will now operate solely from Queen Street and be across one floor.

One hundred jobs are expected to be lost as a result of the restructure.

The future of Auckland department store Smith & Caughey’s has been decided, with the store to remain open in a reduced capacity.

The company behind the 144-year-old store has decided to implement a new reduced format beyond January 2025, allowing them to remain open.

This will see operations downsized and refined to the ground floor of their flagship Queen Street store, while they will also continue to operate an online store.

The store will remain open in its current format until the new year to allow for the annual family Christmas traditions to continue, including the ground floor Christmas windows and the Enchanted Forest on the sixth floor.

Their Newmarket store will close, most likely at the end of September 2024.

The announcement comes after weeks of consultation with staff, which also included the possibility they would close their retail operations.

Tony Caughey, Chairman of Smith & Caughey’s said it was pleasing they had found a way forward for their staff and customers.

“I would like to acknowledge our staff and the challenging time they’ve been through over the last few weeks. They have been openly engaged throughout the consultation process which we’ve operated in good faith.”

“Pleasingly for our team, suppliers and customers we’ve found a path forward to allow us to continue operating, albeit on a scaled back footprint,” Caughey said.

Heart of the City chairperson Viv Beck said she was delighted to hear the Queen Street store would continue to operate.

“This is an iconic retail destination for the city centre. People from all walks of life have expressed sadness about its possible closure and this news will be warmly received.”

She added the move was good for Queen Street and showed confidence for the city centre’s future.

Despite the planned changes, Caughey said it was too early to say what the future would be for their annual Christmas traditions.

“It’s too early to say what our Christmas traditions might look like in the future, so I encourage people to come along and make the most of our Christmas windows and Santa’s Enchanted Forest this year,” he said.

Caughey added he expected they would be able to save around 100 jobs, but there would also be 100 redundancies as a result of the changes.

“Our Queen Street store will remain largely in its current format until the end of January 2025.”

“At the end of January 2025, the Queen Street operations will close briefly for minor works before reopening in the new format in February 2025,” Caughey said.

The department store flirted with closure in May after it was revealed they had experienced a 40% decline in revenue.