Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
Smiths City AI simulator
(@Smiths City_simulator)
Hub AI
Smiths City AI simulator
(@Smiths City_simulator)
Smiths City
Smiths City was a New Zealand retail chain selling furniture and home appliances. It was originally founded by Henry Cooper Smith in 1918 as City Market initially involved with auctioning grain and product. On Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Smiths City was placed into voluntary administration.
In 1918, Henry Cooper Smith established City Market on Colombo Street in Christchurch. The business initially auctioned grain, livestock and general goods, but later began to specialize in new and used furniture and hardware. The business eventually became Smith's City Market, or Smiths City. The flagship Colombo Street store was still operating more than 100 years later, in 2020.
Smiths City opened its first store outside Christchurch, in Filleul Street, Dunedin, in 1977. By March 2020, it had 29 stores.
In 1983, Smiths City purchased 80% of Noel Leeming Television Limited. Following the company being placed into receivership in 1991, the receivers sold both the North Island division and Noel Leeming Television Limited.
In 2004, Smiths City purchased 80% of local Wellington retailer LV Martin & Son. LV Martin & Son was founded in 1934 as a Wellington household appliance store. LV Martin & Son merged with Smiths City at the end of 2015 with all stores now displaying the Smiths City branding.
Smiths City was placed into a trading halt on 27 March 2020, two days into New Zealand's COVID-19 lockdown, after it was initially denied permission to operate as an essential business. It held talks with its primary lender ASB Bank, and the bank agreed to delay a debt repayment. However, the company's share price plunged when the trading halt ended on the following trading day, 30 March.
The company's Blenheim store, the largest tenant of Marlborough District Council, was given a rent discount during the lockdown. Within the first week of the lockdown, the company was also given permission to sell essential goods online.
In May 2020, Smiths City undertook a major restructure due to the ongoing impact of the virus. The board voted to go into receivership to fast-track a potential sale without time-consuming shareholder approval. It laid off 115 workers, about a quarter of its national workforce. It also closed seven of its 29 stores.
Smiths City
Smiths City was a New Zealand retail chain selling furniture and home appliances. It was originally founded by Henry Cooper Smith in 1918 as City Market initially involved with auctioning grain and product. On Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Smiths City was placed into voluntary administration.
In 1918, Henry Cooper Smith established City Market on Colombo Street in Christchurch. The business initially auctioned grain, livestock and general goods, but later began to specialize in new and used furniture and hardware. The business eventually became Smith's City Market, or Smiths City. The flagship Colombo Street store was still operating more than 100 years later, in 2020.
Smiths City opened its first store outside Christchurch, in Filleul Street, Dunedin, in 1977. By March 2020, it had 29 stores.
In 1983, Smiths City purchased 80% of Noel Leeming Television Limited. Following the company being placed into receivership in 1991, the receivers sold both the North Island division and Noel Leeming Television Limited.
In 2004, Smiths City purchased 80% of local Wellington retailer LV Martin & Son. LV Martin & Son was founded in 1934 as a Wellington household appliance store. LV Martin & Son merged with Smiths City at the end of 2015 with all stores now displaying the Smiths City branding.
Smiths City was placed into a trading halt on 27 March 2020, two days into New Zealand's COVID-19 lockdown, after it was initially denied permission to operate as an essential business. It held talks with its primary lender ASB Bank, and the bank agreed to delay a debt repayment. However, the company's share price plunged when the trading halt ended on the following trading day, 30 March.
The company's Blenheim store, the largest tenant of Marlborough District Council, was given a rent discount during the lockdown. Within the first week of the lockdown, the company was also given permission to sell essential goods online.
In May 2020, Smiths City undertook a major restructure due to the ongoing impact of the virus. The board voted to go into receivership to fast-track a potential sale without time-consuming shareholder approval. It laid off 115 workers, about a quarter of its national workforce. It also closed seven of its 29 stores.