Staff outnumber shoppers on final day at Smiths City Hornby

Monday, 25 August 2025

Staff load remaining stock onto trucks on Monday, Smiths City Hornby’s last day.

Staff at Smiths City in Hornby appeared to outnumber the shoppers during its final day of trading on Monday, the store shutting down less than three years after opening.

The furniture, homeware and appliances company is closing stores and not renewing leases across the country following a 40% slump in business in two years, Smiths City owner Colin Neal said last week.

Outlets in Nelson, Blenheim, Wellington, Palmerston North and Tauranga have already shut this year, and the store in Wānaka is also in the process of closing.

Trading at Smiths City in Hornby appeared subdued on Monday.

By midday, staff were wheeling stock out the back and loading trucks, while a trickle of shoppers picked over the few remaining bargains.

Of the 12 beds left in stock, half had sold. About 20 discounted pillows were stacked in a corner, and fewer than 10 customers wandered the store in the hour before lunch.

Smiths City Hornby has been holding a closing-down sale following the decision not to renew its lease.

“There’s not a lot of stuff — most of it’s already gone,” said Maria Brenssell, who was shopping for appliances for her new home in Oxford.

Brenssell had only heard about the closing-down sale the night before. She left with two air fryers and a bundle of cushions and pillows.

“The cushions marked down from $207 to $99 for three. The prices were good because they just want to get rid of it,” she said.

Smiths City Hornby opened in early 2023 in a new retail complex on Tower St.

Former Hornby resident Herpreet Singh said he was shocked to learn the store was closing.

“I couldn’t believe it — they’d only just opened. When I first saw it [the closure] on Facebook, I thought it was a scam.”

The flagship Colombo St store, pictured in 1992, was once on both sides of Dundas St and linked by a bridge.

Smiths City Hornby opened in early 2023. The 2300m² store was the first and, at the time, the only tenant to open at The Railyard, a retail development built on the former Equestrian Hotel site between Shands Rd and Tower St.

The company announced last year it would close its central Christchurch store, where the business began over 100 years ago. The store’s remaining stock after a sale was moved to the Smiths City outlet at The Colombo mall.

Smiths City Hornby is closing its doors at 5pm on Monday.

Smiths City had 35 stores nationwide in its heyday and 25 stores when Neal acquired it. By the end of the month it will have 10 stores.

Neal previously said the century-old furniture and appliance chain was downsizing as shop leases come to an end.

“It’s the economy … you don’t buy a TV to eat. Retail is tough,” Neal said.

The Press asked Neal on Monday for comment and to clarify any future plans for the Colombo store, but has not received a response. Details about potential job losses also remain unclear.