Wait, what\u2019s a Faradays?<\/p>\n
A ritzy multi-brand concept store in Auckland. The format rests on having a broad range of categories and brands under one roof, with an interesting fit out. It opened on Parnell\u2019s Faraday Street \u2013 named after<\/a> scientist Michael Faraday \u2013 in 2021 on the ground floor of the historic Textile Centre<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n That building\u2019s worth a quick sidebar: Built in the 1900s, it housed wool and hemp and, for a \u201cbrief time<\/a>\u201d in the 1980s, members of Centrepoint. Changing hands in 1989, it was transformed into the Textile Centre, before the \u201ccollapse of the textile industry<\/a>\u201d was cause for another reinvention: premium office spaces.<\/p>\n Faradays joined them to considerable fanfare, heralding a \u201cnew era of luxury<\/a>\u201d with the kind of retail that once required a passport and disposable income (it was the first store in the Southern Hemisphere to sell Ala\u00efa).<\/p>\n Interesting! What\u2019s about the Milne & Choyce building on Queen St?<\/p>\n Good question. Built in 1926 by pioneering department store Milne & Choyce, shoppers could buy custom-made apparel, in-house labels and access international trends (Italian fashion was shown to \u201cgreat excitement\u201d according to New Zealand Fashion Museum<\/a>). There was a rooftop garden, Queen Street\u2019s first escalator and six elevators. For a period it was \u201cone of the largest and most modern department stores in the country<\/a>\u201d, but in 1976 the company\u2019s flagship location closed.<\/p>\n Its competitors eventually did too. Karangahape Road lost Rendell\u2019s (1884-2006) and George Court & Sons<\/a> (1926-1988). Retailing was a family business for the Courts; George\u2019s brother John established his eponymous Queen Street department store<\/a> (Farmers is in that spot now) while his great grandson Steve Tindall founded a little business known as The Warehouse.<\/p>\n Good memory. Auckland lost<\/a> Smith & Caughey\u2019s (and its Christmas windows<\/a>) in June after 145 years. The past five had seen a 40% drop in revenue due, chairman Tony Caughey told<\/a> the Herald, to a \u201cperfect storm\u201d of contributing factors, including declining foot traffic and increased competition. Around the corner, in the historic Customhouse building, T Galleria<\/a> also shut. Owner DFS shut down its New Zealand and Australia operations after 30 years, citing \u201cchallenging economic conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n Another, Takapuna\u2019s The Department Store, closed<\/a> in 2020. Launched a decade earlier, it was declared the world\u2019s best new retail destination<\/a> by Monocle magazine, reinvigorating the retail format by combining designer fashion, a cafe and salon in a stylish, modern fit out. It was worth crossing the Harbour Bridge for. \u201cMost of our customers were coming from the cityside,\u201d co-founder Karen Walker told The Spinoff<\/a> about the closure. \u201cTen years ago that was the concept of a destination store and now it\u2019s not. Ten years is a long time, especially when you\u2019re dealing with fast, powerful tech. Now, the idea of a destination store [involves] browsing with your thumbs. That\u2019s how people shop. Retail now is about small local stores and web.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh dear. What about the rest of the country?<\/p>\n A similar story. Queenstown lost<\/a> its luxury department store when DFS departed this year, taking the Resort Galleria concept store, which opened in 2022<\/a>, with it.<\/p>\n Wellington\u2019s Kirkcaldie & Stains closed in 2016 (\u201cfinancial pressures<\/a>\u201d) after 150 years. It was replaced by David Jones which, after a rumoured $20m refurbishment, left in 2022 (declining foot traffic<\/a>). Cuba Street department store James Smiths, which traded for 126 years and once stocked a three-seater aeroplane<\/a>, closed in 1993 (\u201cfalling profits and changing shopping habits<\/a>\u201c).<\/p>\n Palmerston North had Watchorns Ltd, Garners and Watson Bros, among its retailers.<\/p>\n Department store chain D.I.C. was founded by Bendix Hallenstein (yes, that one) in 1884 in Dunedin. It had 16 stores at its peak, absorbing other department stores like Christchurch\u2019s Beath\u2019s. However, changing consumer habits (shopping malls) contributed to its sale to competitor Arthur Barnett in the late 1980s, which was in turn sold to H&J Smith in 2015. That closed in 2022 after 123 years<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bucking the trend is Canterbury; Kaiapoi\u2019s Blackwell\u2019s Department Store, established in 1871, is still trading. So is Ballantyne\u2019s, though the retailer announced last week it would be cutting staff due to rising costs and \u201cevolving consumer behaviour<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be honest, I didn\u2019t realise they were so popular\u2026<\/p>\n Oh, yes. Many had tea rooms and other novelties, acting as a third space. Department stores evolved with the times, transforming their made-to-measure services and drapers to ready-to-wear as they benefited from disposable incomes and rising consumerism. Relaxed import restrictions from 1982 meant international labels were more accessible, but it also led to competition; international chains entered the market and shopping malls cropped up offering more choice than ever.<\/p>\n Department stores held onto the glamour and exclusivity that fueled aspirational shopping through the 1990s and early 2000s. Overseas, retailers like New York\u2019s Bergdorf Goodman and Barney\u2019s retained cachet as designer awareness increased (some even stocked New Zealand brands like Karen Walker<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Competition increased when online shopping took off and changed everything. Evolving consumer behaviour was exacerbated by the conditions of the pandemic, as well as rising living costs. Who or what\u2019s to blame for retail\u2019s woes has been analysed ever since. While some fingers have been<\/a> pointed at Gen Z<\/a>\u2019s shopping, they\u2019re not the only demographic to change its habits.<\/p>\n Oh boy. Is there hope?<\/p>\n There is! While US department stores had lost market share<\/a>, international behemoths Nordstrom, Macy\u2019s, Bloomingdale\u2019s have all reported growth<\/a> this year after reducing their store footprints, adjusting assortments and improving store experience. David Jones is investing<\/a> AU$65m in transforming its tech capabilities and gross profits are up<\/a> at Aussie retailer The Iconic, which has announced a focus on New Zealand designers.<\/p>\n You\u2019d be right to assume overwhelmed shoppers might be looking for a curated point of view and offline interaction. At a purely problem-solving level, there\u2019s validity in well-executed multi-brand stores; rather than look through every white shirt on the internet, you could go in the store and try several on.<\/p>\n While New Zealand\u2019s per-person volume retail sales has been falling<\/a> for years and a growing number<\/a> of shoppers choose low-cost offshore websites, the tide may be turning and local retailers are \u201cconfident<\/a>\u201d. Though spending has been up<\/a> and down<\/a>, Auckland\u2019s downtown saw a significant bump<\/a> with the return of New Zealand Fashion Week. At the upper end of the market, experts point to increasing local demand for designer fashion, noting in-store experience is \u201ccritically important<\/a>\u201d to luxury retailing.<\/p>\nSome of Auckland\u2019s many, many department stores. (Images: Smith & Caughey\u2019s, Instagram; Milne & Choyce 1908, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections NZG-19080812-0037-01; Milne and Choyce in 1962 by John Burgess Rowntree, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1528-62055; John Court 1916, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 822-ALB132-08)
\nHmm, a Queen Street department store sounds vaguely familiar. Weren\u2019t we all talking about this recently?<\/p>\nThe capital has lost many. (Images: D.I.C. in Wellington, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19290619-50-06; Kirkcaldie & Stains, Wellington 1969 by W\/ Cleal, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 895-A90604; Wellington Cosmo July\/August 1984, Wellington Recollect; James Smith\u2019s in 1985 by Cornelis Van Kranen, Wellington City Libraries 50011-105)<\/p>\n
Canterbury has two left, Ballantyne\u2019s and Blackwell\u2019s. (Images: Beath\u2019s, Canterbury Museum; Ballantynes in 2011 by David Ayling, Christchurch City Libraries; Blackwells in the 1970s, Blackwells; Ballantyne\u2019s, Instagram)<\/p>\n