Smiths City - will it be the next 'Dick Smith'?

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amiga500

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#238107 3-Jul-2018 14:49

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/105158407/smiths-citys-15m-for-unpaid-meetings-adds-to-red-ink

I checked out the Christchurch Colombo Street shop today - it's huge. When I went in there just before lunchtime there may have been three people browsing at the most. The electronics area looked well stocked but had a lot of empty floor space.

Because I have bought a small Veon TV recently I thought I'd check out the price on the smallest TV they sell. It was a Panasonic 32 inch selling for $597.00. (A step up from my Veon of course, although possibly out sourced as Panasonic does a lot of that now, as do the other makers.)

Then I went to see what price Harvey Norman had - it was $530 for a Panasonic 32 inch TV. The best price was in a Noel Leemings brochure at the front of their shop $384 for a Panasonic 32 inch TV.

The cheapest option of all would be a Veon 32 inch HD from The Warehouse at $269.00. (Which has a 3 yr warranty)

I also noticed that Smiths City had just updated all eight? of their Fuji photo printing machines - a possibly strange decision seeing that all but one shop at the Riccarton Mall got rid of photo printing two or more years ago!

So what is your experience of Smiths City been like? Will they be the next Dick Smith?

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#2048376 3-Jul-2018 15:51

I find smiths city a bit strange.

How do they survive in such a competitive market?

I think they will be the next chain to go bust. But, they're not that big right?

cruxis

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#2048382 3-Jul-2018 15:54

Going to smiths city reminds me going there in 80s, It feels so old school and samey. The thing I noticed missing is the firearms section has gone. The floor space is noticeable too must cost a bit. I feel the market competitors are doing a better job with moving with the times. Can't tell if smith citys is high end or low end. ie ballantynes, warehouse

MikeB4

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#2048384 3-Jul-2018 15:58

surfisup1000:

I find smiths city a bit strange.

How do they survive in such a competitive market?

I think they will be the next chain to go bust. But, they're not that big right?

Smith City on NZ standards is big. It operates circa 30 stores. It would bad for consumers for them to go bust or be swallowed up by another group such as the Warehouse or Harvey Norman.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

wellygary

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#2048398 3-Jul-2018 16:13

amiga500:

So what is your experience of Smiths City been like? Will they be the next Dick Smith?

While its retail future is probably cloudy, its unlikely to explode the way DS did, which was taken over by a bunch of private equity wideboys who engaged in a huge "pump and dump" before it blew up leaving the new shareholders with absolutely nil value....

CYaBro

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#2048442 3-Jul-2018 17:07

We have a Smiths City in Whangarei now, rebranded Furniture City store, but I've never been in there.
And nothing has ever prompted me to even think about going there.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

KiwiSurfer

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#2048443 3-Jul-2018 17:07

I've honestly never been in one. Is it just a not-in-Auckland thing?

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MikeB4

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#2048447 3-Jul-2018 17:13

We purchased the Fridge, Oven and Hob for our recent kitchen upgrade from there and it is probably the first time I have purchased from them in quite a few years. I did buy from L V Martin& Son before the Smith City buyout.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

wellygary

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#2048448 3-Jul-2018 17:14

KiwiSurfer:

I've honestly never been in one. Is it just a not-in-Auckland thing?

yeah, its a mainly South Island Chain, with ambitions to be a National player,

dafman

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#2048453 3-Jul-2018 17:19

We've bought a bit of furniture from Smiths City in Paraparaumu. Prices were excellent. Probably a bit too excellent as it turns out. Will be a pity if they go.

quickymart

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#2048469 3-Jul-2018 17:37

They were huge in the 90s but lost their direction by the turn of the century, IMO. All their technology stuff seems to be last year's and priced too much for what it is.

Behodar

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#2048471 3-Jul-2018 17:40

wellygary: yeah, its a mainly South Island Chain

It actually seems to be roughly 50/50.

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kingjj

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#2048484 3-Jul-2018 18:14

I'm sure it still appeals to a certain type of consumer who has been partaking of their relatively-easy-to-get finance for a long time. My ex-step father was a big purchaser there, all on tick. He still purchases everything from them as they have made it easy for him to get the credit whereas he would likely struggle with other providers.

sbiddle

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#2048486 3-Jul-2018 18:25

They're an interesting company.. Despite lots of advertising they don't have much of a profile.

They're in what is an incredibly competitive low margin market and can't quite decide who they want to be and what they want to focus on. For the last few years they've focussed on trying to turn the business around, but nothing so far seems to have worked.

Why they held onto stores such as the old LV Martin in Ngauranga Gorge for so long really puzzled me.

Fred99

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#2048489 3-Jul-2018 18:33

There's no future in the general market mid-range "department store". Discount barns might survive, higher end department stores might. They won't.

They are toast. To be fair to the directors/managers - they really had nowhere to go. If you were running the place where your market was being eaten at the low end, at the high end, and especially by specialist stores in the middle - what would you have done to save it?

amiga500

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#2048495 3-Jul-2018 18:51

I happened to be walking past there about a week ago & saw a whole lot of Fuji photo printing kiosks being put into a Fuji branded van & I thought they were going out of photo printing but no they have all new ones in there today! Fuji machines.

Guess some people must be printing photos to put on Nana's fridge still. Lol!

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