H & J Smith Ltd is a company which operates in the lower South Island of New Zealand mostly operating Department Stores but also some specialty stores and franchises. Department Stores are operated in Invercargill, Gore, Queenstown, Te Anau and Balclutha. There were also department stores in Nelson and Blenheim but these stores closed in March 2006. H & J Smiths has been operating since 1900.
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The Invercargill Department Store is the flagship store which over recent years has had a major makeover including the addition twin esculators where in the past there was only one esculator going in the up direction. There is also a new cosmetic department. H & J Smiths operate a franchise of Stirling Sports and Take Note bookstores and these stores are included in the Invercargill store. Other departments include, Menswear Womenswear, Toys, Furniture, Home Linen, Crafts, Fabrics and an Appliance Department branded as H & J's Appliance Centre. The store also includes a cafe restaurant branded as The Copper Kettle. The Invercargill store includes a Sky Bridge connecting the store to a paid car park building, the Sky Bridge has been part of the Invercargill store since the 1980s. In 2011, the Invercargill Paper Plus franchise, which H & J Smiths had purchased in 2010, was incorporated into the main Invercargill store.[1]
The Gore Store offers many of the services offered in the Invercargill store but on a smaller scale. There is a franchise of Take Note bookstores in the Gore Store. The store includes a cafe branded as Junction Cafe. In the past this was known as The Viking Restaurant.
The Te Anau store only includes the Clothing, Home Linen, Craft and Frabic departments offered in the Invercargill and Gore stores. The store is on a single floor and outside the store includes a Temperature/Clock display similar to the one in the Invercargill store.
Originally in the centre of Queenstown this store recently moved to the Remarkables Park in Frankton. The store offers Clothing, Cosmetics, Home Linen and a Furniture Department.
This store was opened after Dunedin based department store Arthur Barnett pulled out of the area with H & J Smith's operating in the old Arthur Barnett store. This store offers Clothing, cosmetics, giftware, and home linen.
The Mitre 10 Mega store in Invercargill is owned by H & J Smith's. H & J Smith's Mitre 10 was first opened in 1988 next to the Invercargill department store. In 2004 H & J Smiths indicated their intentions to upgrade the Invercargill store to a Mitre 10 Mega store. The new store was built in the former Woolworths Supermarket which had only been operating in the Central Business District of Invercargill for 4 years. The Burger King restaurant next to the Woolworths Supermarket had to be demolished and rebuilt in another part of the car park to accommodate the Mitre 10 Mega store. The Mitre 10 Mega store was opened in March 2005.
H & J Smiths also operate the Mitre 10 Store in the Remarkables Park in Frankton.
Big Scotty's was a furniture store operated on Clyde Street in Invercargill selling lounge, bedroom, dining and home entertainment furniture. In October 2010, it was announced that this store would be closing.[2]
H & J's Carpet World is a carpet store on Tay Street in Invercargill selling a large range of carpets, vinyls and mats.
This is the largest sporting goods store in Invercargill. The store sells a range of outdoor clothing, camping equipment, sports equipment, hunting and fishing gear and firearms. H & J's Outdoor World operates the franchise for Gun City in Invercargill.
This is a sporting goods store in the Remarkables Park in Frankton, Queenstown. The store offers a range of outdoor clothing, camping equipment, sports equipment, hunting and fishing gear and firearms.
This is an Electrical Contracting business operated in Invercargill and Queenstown. The company offers an appliance repair service as well as a household and business electrical service.