After 123 years, it will be the first day the city and its residents will no longer have the retail institution H&J Smith to call its own.
The business’ owners announced the decision to close the store on November 18, citing a change in shoppers’ habits, supply chain issues and old earthquake-prone buildings.
The news saddened people across the South Island who had grown up shopping in the many departments and had created relationships with the staff who were known by their black uniform and friendly approach.
Retailer and fragrance department manager Denise Scheele had been working in the store for 12 years and said the past couple of months had been different from what she had been used to.
"We are giving the customers a different kind of service.
"We’re feeling the sadness, at the same time as feeling our own — I don’t want to use the word counselling, but it is almost like it is because it is important for them to share their stories, those moments of their lives."
While Mrs Scheele and fellow staff would be focused on keeping up the good service until the last minute, she said it would be really hard to farewell her "second family and home".
She described the feeling as a rollercoaster.
"It felt like a long way away and now it’s closer and closer.
"When I look at a whole lot of stock that is being sold, it feels like another child leaves home.
"My stock or my counters are like my baby, and when your baby grows up and moves away, it feels like a little loss."
H&J Smith chief executive John Green agreed and said while it was a hard time, they wanted to celebrate the history of the retail institution with the community which had embraced it for such a long time.
There were many events and sales planned across the next month but he was surprised with the support they were getting.
"We are as much about being a place as we are about what we sell — we’ve been a meeting place, a reliable place, a sanctuary, . . . we’ve been all of those things for generations, and families."
"When we had our last-ever cardholder event at the beginning of September, we were overwhelmed with the support — it was just phenomenal, which is really appreciated, as it put us ahead of the project and we’ve been able to just quietly manage our exit on a daily basis," Mr Green said.
From an operational point of view, some of the store’s brands had already started to operate their own stores, like the Uniform Group on Dee St and Apt Collections in Invercargill Central.
Mr Green said one of its most popular stores, Paper Plus, had new owners and would continue trading on the site — with the entrance from Tay St — until January and would then move to another location in the city centre.
The Christmas decorations were being put up, a display with historic photos celebrating 123 years of the institution was on the way, and the traditional photos with Santa will be hosted in the last week of trading, but instead of the team taking the photo, customers would use their own cameras to capture the memory, he said.
"We’re trying to do as much as possible as we normally do, but we also have to be practical."
The store will close at 3pm on the last day with entertainment and many surprises planned.
Since the announcement of the closure, about 30 staff had been relocated to those new businesses and another 15 had left for other jobs.
Mr Green said a team of 11 staff would continue to work on site until February next year to pack down the store and organise the remaining stock.
A new venture was planned with what was left and while there was some interest in the building, they were looking to put it on the market in February 2024, he said.
"We’re incredibly grateful to this community and for the support."
Group director Jason Smith believed November 18 would be an emotional day for everyone.
For him, it was even more difficult as he would be farewelling the place his family had dedicated their lives and work careers to.
"I think that it’s something you don’t ever want to do, is take a decision like this and deal with it, but you have to realise you have to do it.
"It’ll be very tough on the day without a doubt and be sad to say goodbye to all these people — that final click of the door will be a pretty tough moment."
While the store was closing, the family and their remaining businesses would continue to have a tight relationship with Southland, he said.
"It is with true sadness that we are saying goodbye to the community we served for 123 years.
"So a sincere thank you from the family, from the staff, from the management and the leadership of the organisation to our community and our customers — We will miss you."
