Bed Bath and Beyond to close Timaru CBD store

Closing down sale signs have appeared in the window of Bed Bath and Beyond in Sophia St, despite the company saying three months ago it would retain a shop in Timaru’s CBD.

When the company opened its new site at The Showgrounds retail development in March, it said it would keep two stores in the town, continuing to operate its Sophia St store with temporary open hours.

It was expected both stores would “continue to trade well’’, the company’s chief executive Trevor Brown said at the time.

However, this week Brown confirmed the “experiment has proven difficult’’.

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“The new store has impacted the central city store,’’ he said.

‘’The [Sophia St] landlord also had someone approach them about the site, and it seemed unreasonable to continue the experiment.

“It was those two factors that have led to the closure.’’

He expected the store to close at the end of June, and said while it had not worked out, he was happy with the way things were going at The Showgrounds site.

It had always been the company’s idea to have a Home Store in Timaru as the district, between Christchurch and Dunedin where it had other stores, was ideal, and “completed the triangle’’.

“But the impact of the new store has been more than we thought.’’

He said the Sophia St store opened in about 2004, after moving from the Northtown Mall.

“We moved to Sophia St for more space.

“The Home Store concept was launched in 2014, and we now have 32 nationwide.’’

The four staff members employed at the Sophia St store would move to The Showgrounds site, he said.

“We are not making anyone redundant.’’

Concerns about businesses moving out of Timaru’s CBD and into a retail centre were a key reason some residents opposed the retail complex when it was first proposed.

On Saturday, Bunnings Warehouse opened its doors for the first time at the site.

Countdown was the first Showgrounds store to open on March 9.

Look Sharp, and Black and White Coffee Cartel have also opened there, and a sign on the Pierre’s Sushi store at the complex says, “Best sushi in Timaru coming soon’’.

Lone Star has also confirmed it will open at the site.