Christchurch’s Ballantynes: New Zealand’s last great department store

For well over a century, New Zealand was served by great department stores, from Auckland’s Smith & Caughey’s to Kirkcaldie and Stains in the capital. Dunedin had Arthur Barnett and, until recently, Invercargill enjoyed H&J Smith. All but one of those stores have now shut up shop – and the other threatened to, before downsizing. One department store powerhouse remains – and as Mike Thorpe reports, it isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving.

On the corner of Cashel and Colombo streets in central Christchurch, the cornerstone of the city’s retail precinct can be found. An immovable presence that the rest of the central business district can anchor from. For the past 170 years, it has faced many adversities – and for 170 years Ballantynes Department Store has prevailed.

“We’ve gone through two world wars, two pandemics [Covid-19 and influenza], two depressions, two disasters [fire in 1947, earthquake in 2011] and a recession every four or five years,” Jonathan Ballantyne says.

Ballantyne is the great-great-grandson of John Ballantyne who bought the business in 1872, putting his name out the front and, unwittingly, etching it forever into the history of Christchurch.

John Ballantyne founded the department stores that still bear his name. Photo / Supplied

Before the Ballantynes took it over, the store had opened in 1854 as Dunstable House, selling imported hats and other clothing. Now, 170 years on, it still sells those items – and much, much more.

The history of Ballantynes is both rich and often told – but according to Jonathan, it also offers an insight into how it has survived when New Zealand’s other great department stores have closed their doors – or at best left them slightly ajar. He says the answer is, in part, in the name.

“It’s entirely owned by the Ballantyne family. Until recently, the family has always been in there managing it.

“My father [Campbell Ballantyne] ran the place from 1978 through to ‘96.”

The Ballantynes fire disaster of 1947. Photo / NZME

Jonathan is a fifth-generation Ballantyne and current board member. His own career has seen him achieve success in both banking and construction. He now lives in Sydney.

The family’s success away from the business is, in his opinion, what gives Ballantynes an advantage.

“Family has worked in the firm but the family hasn’t generally depended on the firm. Those that didn’t work in the firm were off doing other things and any dividends or anything like that was just a little bit of extra.

“There’s never been any sort of great demand on the firm to produce lots of money and give it to its shareholders.”

Ballantynes Department Store in central Christchurch has proven to be one of New Zealand's greatest retail success stories. Photo / George Heard

That “financial freedom” has meant the business can concentrate on itself rather than those demanding a dividend, according to Ballantyne.

“The shareholders have been quite happy to say, ‘Well, if you make three bucks, you put two bucks back into the firm and we will take a dollar’, you know? That has always helped the firm to be in a good position and to me, it’s why when you look at it, it looks like it’s in really good nick. Maria has done a great job in getting it to what it looks like now.”

Jonathan Ballantyne, the great-great-grandson of John Ballantyne - founder of Ballantynes Department Store. Photo / Ballantynes

Maria O’Halloran is Ballantynes’ chief executive who has been in the role since 2013. While not a Ballantyne, she is a Cantabrian, with her own memories of the giant retail store as a young girl.

“Purchasing the high school uniform. Coming in actually earlier than that with my grandmother, but definitely the school uniform was quite a memorable milestone,” O’Halloran says.

The CEO’s view on how Ballantynes has bucked the trend of the department store downturn is different to Jonathan Ballantyne’s. After taking the reins soon after the devastating Canterbury earthquakes of 2010/11, O’Halloran set about future-proofing the iconic store.

“I guess my legacy is very much the rebuild. So, these new buildings were my vision, of what I saw the future departments to look like and what was required,” O’Halloran says.

Ballantynes was closed for eight months after the quakes before it re-opened at 100% of building code in late October 2011. In between times, and without a physical trading post, Ballantynes’ online transactions grew, which introduced them to new customers.

“The focus after the earthquakes was rebuilding physical buildings and fortunately, we found some money to also update websites and so-forth in tandem.”

O’Halloran says that over 50% of Ballantynes’ online sales are from the North Island – and there is now a physical presence there too.

“It’s a partner store called Seasalt. So, one of our very beloved brands - a UK Brand we had for seven years, exclusive in New Zealand. We’ve opened a partner store with them on the North Shore, and we’ll look to roll out further stores,” O’Halloran says.

This is a significant step, as previously, department stores like Ballantynes did not operate beyond their territory.

“There was sort of a gentleman’s agreement we won’t get on each other’s turf, but there was also a sharing of information at one stage. That’s how business used to operate,” Ballantyne says.

That was then and this is now. With most of the traditional department stores no longer trading and with online sales removing geographical barriers, those unwritten terms seem null and void. O’Halloran disagrees that agreement is out of date – reiterating that the Auckland store is not Ballantynes and that others were offered the product to sell.

“We’re not really stepping on anyone’s patch, so to speak. We’ve always had a mutual respect for the New Zealand department stores.”

Smith & Caughey’s in Auckland CBD chose to remain open - but in a reduced capacity. Photo / Michael Craig

In Auckland, Smith & Caughey’s remains, but in a greatly reduced capacity. Ballantyne’s - to all intents and purposes - is the last of its kind. So, why did the others fail where Ballantynes has succeeded?

“I guess my personal opinion and experience would be they haven’t innovated quickly enough. Being current and relevant to the customer today, is so important. We have brands that have a standalone store down the road. You’re competing with people shopping from the couch,” O’Halloran says.

Jonathan Ballantyne believes habits changed in Auckland – but other stores, like H&J Smith in Invercargill haven’t looked after the bricks and mortar.

“I don’t think they invested enough in their store to keep it going. Whereas Ballantynes has spent, we continue to spend on the business and reinvest,” Ballantyne says.

After 170 years of trade in Christchurch, the corner of Cashel and Colombo will always be the flagship store, according to O’Halloran, but the name that’s synonymous with Canterbury could find new markets in the future.

“I think it’s been a really interesting exercise opening Invercargill. So that’s known as Ballantynes Select. We saw an opportunity with H & J Smith’s exiting Southland. It’s proving very successful, so it raises the question - where can we take that model?” O’Halloran says.

As retail the country over continues to battle economic headwinds, Ballantynes continues to adjust its sails, and sales, always with one group in mind.

“If the customers didn’t want it, we wouldn’t be there,” Ballantyne says.

Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.

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