Smiths City changes name to get rid of previous property pitfalls

Smiths City has changed the name of its business as it moves to “revive” the brand.

The furniture and electronics retail chain with 25 stores nationwide was sold to investment company Polar Capital, owned by Colin Neal, founder of refrigerated logistics company Big Chill, in May and has spent the last few months revamping its appearance. .

Smiths City will introduce its new look and logo this afternoon with the opening of its new Colombo St flagship store in Christchurch.

Smiths City CEO Tony Allison, who was appointed to lead the company on May 22, said the rebrand came as part of a new strategy to drive growth and shake off the reputational damage that the brand had suffered through his previous property and the Employment Tribunal: insufficient staff. – debacle.

“There is an element of that that says we are a new business, with new owners, doing new things, and what better way to do that than to say here is the new brand and paint the exterior of the stores and continue with that; we have changed, we’re a new business, “Allison told the Herald, adding that the inside of the stores had a new feel.

Allison said the new Colombo St store modeled what future stores would look like.

The store layout, product display, layout and accessories, along with a new logo, gave the retailer a whole new feel and was “a step up from what the business was in the past,” he said.

“It feels like a complete change, although many of the products are exactly the same.”

Twenty of the 25 stores in the retail chain have already been painted and renamed, these will undergo additional remodel over the next 12 to 18 months.

The rebrand was part of a “renaissance” of the business strategy, which would see it focused on partnership opportunities, Allison said. “We also have a finance book that we seek to grow, and we seek to do so through new systems, both by changing our ERP and our financial system, allowing us to open new partnerships.”

Another focus area it would focus on was expanding its carpet offering to more stores outside of the existing nine. It also plans to grow its store network to about 30 stores nationwide. Through partnerships, you might consider more, Allison said.

“We have relocated one and opened three stores in the last four months and we have another couple of [openings] on the horizon we are working and a revitalization of the current network “.

Allison did not disclose how much money the company had spent and would continue to spend to rebrand and update its store network.

Colin Neal of new owner Polar Capital said the change in ownership meant Smiths City was able to “think hard about what the brand stands for” and reimagine its in-store proposition.

“We are downplaying the ‘city’ of the brand in recognition of everything we are not. We are not a big ‘city’. Our most successful stores are not the big cities, they are the regional heart of New Zealand,” Neal said .

Smiths City made headlines in 2018 and the company took a $ 1.5 million hit following an Employment Court ruling that ordered staff reimbursed for attending ‘voluntary’ sales meetings over a six-year period.

In late March, Smiths City first noted that the Covid-19 crisis had had a “material and significant impact” on the business.

Smiths City was sold to Polar Capital in May for $ 60 million and went bankrupt to speed up the sale. As part of the acquisition agreement, more than 100 employees were laid off and seven stores were closed.

The value of the assets transferred to Polar Capital was around $ 60 million, however the buyer is assuming some debts and other liabilities and the net amount to be received is $ 8 million.

Neal established Big Chill Distributors and sold it to Freightways and has since acquired Smiths City, as well as interests in Moa and Mercer, which are listed on NZX, and Pricewise.

Smiths City was founded in Christchurch in 1918.