H&J Smith Group (HJSG) have announced today that their iconic Invercarcargill store, and Remarkables Park, Queenstown store will cease trading on 18th November.

H&J Smith's iconic Invercargill store.

The group's Mitre10 MEGA Invercargill and Queenstown stores, and Laser Electrical will however continue trading as usual.

HJSG's original announcement proposing closure of its 123 year old department store business on 17th May was greeted with widespread shock and sadness throughout the community.

Today's announcement comes after a four-week staff consultation process.

HJSG Managing Director Jason Smith said they appreciated everyone who took the time to engage with them during the consultation process.

"It was important to us to take a considered approach and carefully evaluate the many submissions, questions, and suggestions from our staff and customers."

"While we received good feedback, most of it centered on specific factors, such as building remediation or supplier issues, rather than a collective consideration of all factors behind this decision."

"In the end however, it was clear our proposal to call time on the Department Store business is the right decision for the H&J Smith Group,” Smith said.

H & J Smith (HJS) CEO John Green said they knew this was difficult news for both staff and the community.

“Supporting our team through this challenging time remains our top priority."

"With this in mind, we will close the store tomorrow (27 June 2023) to give our team the space and time to absorb the news,” Green said.

In a statement HJSG said that discussions were currently underway with several interested parties with a view to potentially continuing some parts of the business independently from the HJS brand.

School uniforms and specialist lingerie fitting services are two areas of the business that HJS have focused on to ensure continuity of service for their customers.

“We know these services are vital to our customers and community. Finding a solution for both has been a priority for us, and I am pleased to confirm we will soon make an announcement regarding the future of these services,” said Green.

While the HJS flagship store in Invercargill requires significant remediations to the existing building to ensure it meets 100% NBS, there is no information yet to share about the future of the building or site.

“Our priority has been our people and determining the future of the business," Smith said.

"It’s only now that it’s appropriate for us to discuss potential uses for the building and site."

"We feel very strongly, however, that the community has an opportunity to assist in the creation of new vision for this space."

More announcements were promised by HJSG in the coming weeks.

HJS will be communicating directly with account holders regarding the future use of the HJS card.

“Our team and management have really appreciated the incredible customer support through this difficult process. On their behalf, we would like to thank the community for these kind words, stories, and wishes shared with us over the last four weeks." Smith said.

"It’s been a great privilege to hear what H & J Smith has meant to the Invercargill, and Southland, community for the last 123 years."

"We have been honoured to have played even a small part in the lives of our wonderful community,” said Smith.