Smiths City liquidation sales across the South over the weekend left shelves stripped of their stock in just one day, as staff are left in the dark about what comes next.
The future of Smiths City remains up in the air with more advice likely by the end of the week.
The 107-year-old retailer went into voluntary administration on Tuesday last week and on Friday announced a nationwide liquidation sale over the weekend.
Seven of the eight stores — Auckland, Christchurch, Greymouth, Oamaru, Alexandra, Gore and Invercargill — reopened to sell remaining stock.
The exception was the Dunedin store, which remained closed.
The Wānaka store closed last month.
In Gore, hoards of bargain-hunters left the shelves empty on Saturday, with sales believed to be totalling more than $100,000 in one day.
By Sunday, most items had been marked sold except for a few air fryers and some lounge suites.
By mid-morning yesterday, shelves in the Invercargill store were stripped clean and almost all whiteware appliances were sold out.
Only a few beds, mattresses and a lounge suite remained in the store.
It was understood staff were still working through the news of the surprise voluntary administration announcement which has them in limbo about their future.
In Alexandra, people were collecting items they bought at the weekend — some as much as 70% off the original price.
No reason was given why the Dunedin store did not open.
Voluntary administration is a tool used for companies facing financial difficulties, allowing time for administrators to assess a company’s financial position.
A representative from the company’s voluntary administrators, BDO NZ, said the sales were still ongoing and it would give updates in the coming days.
The administrators were in meetings this week to assess the future of the company. — Allied Media
