H&J Smith Gore store to rebrand under new owner Longbeach

H&J Smith’s Gore store will be taken over by a major long-term supplier, Longbeach Holdings Ltd of Christchurch, at the end of next month.

H&Js has also confirmed that the Armoury Boutique on the northwest corner of its giant Invercargill store will also continue under a new owner – its women’s fashion buyer Tania Roderique.

The Gun City part of its business, which was operated under licence, will continue under its Christchurch parent company.

H&J Smith Group stores in Invercargill and Remarkables Park Queenstown are set to close mid-November following the company’s decision to call time on its department store business, which has traded continuously in Invercargill for 123 years.

More announcements would follow in coming weeks, chief executive John Green said.

He was delighted with the arrangement with Longbeach in Gore which he said would ensure continuity for both the community and in-store team.

The general manager of Longbeach Apparel Christchurch, Jane Coleman, confirmed the four staff of the Gore branch would be retained in the transfer.

“It should be a smooth transition,’’ she said.

The company designed and wholesaled a range of apparel and also operated its own retail stores, trading as APT Collections.

The new store would stock many of the women’s fashion labels for which it was currently known, but would also introduce others Siren, Lania, Newport and Seeking Lola.

The expanded range would include more Swanndri – for women and children as well as men – and Line 7 clothing.

In 2021 Longbeach took over the Mosgiel store previously owned by H&J Smith.

The company had enjoyed a long-term relationship of “probably 25 to 30 years’’ with H&Js, and wanted to continue to support its customers.

“It’s a good outcome,’’ she said.

Green said the store would trade as H&J Smith until August 26, after which customers could still use their H&J Smith charge card and gift cards in the Invercargill store until November 18 and at Invercargill Mitre 10 Mega until February 28 next year.

Green said the Gun City part of the H&J business in Invercargill was being taken over by its parent company, Gun City Christchurch, and would be changing to its new ownership from August 14.

Also from that date, the Armoury Boutique in H&Js 12,000sqm flagship Invercargill building, would be operated by Tania Roderique.

Roderique, who had been with the company for six-and-a-half years, said she was looking forward to continuing with well-known staff Anne Shuttleworth and Viv Skelt.

Roderique, as its women’s fashion buyer, said it “makes sense to carry on with that department, which I know really well’’.

“We have a really good customer base – loyal customers.’’

The Armoury Boutique would remain at its existing location for at least a year, she said.

H&J’s 12,000sqm flagship Invercargill department store was now on the market.

It actually comprised 12 buildings, built at different times, and it contained what managing director Jason Smith called “40 little businesses inside one big business’’.

There had been interest in “a number of areas of the business’’, Green said.

The continuation of the school uniform business was earlier confirmed with the announcement H&Js had partnered with Uniform Group to open a standalone store on Dee Street in September.