Two embattled kitchen and furniture retailers are trying to flog off their leftover stock in liquidation and receivership fire sales.
Smiths City stores in Auckland and Christchurch opened for sales this afternoon, with more than 21,000 items “at significantly reduced prices”.
A further five stores in Greymouth, Oamaru, Alexandra, Gore and Invercargill begin sales tomorrow.
The sale is running for a limited time until stocks last, Smiths City administrators from BDO Christchurch said.
Customers who have paid deposits on items before Tuesday’s liquidation announcement have been contacted by the administrators directly.
Gift cards will not be accepted, and no refunds or returns will be accepted. Customers with deposits paid for items will not be able to collect them during the sale unless they have been told to by administrators.
The sale follows the end of an initial assessment of Smiths City’s financial position and stocktake.
Administrators also said they were in discussions with parties interested in taking over the business assets.
Meanwhile, Kitchen Things stores have also reopened for a receivership sale after their receivers completed their stocktake.
All stores, except for those in Hamilton (which was not impacted by the receivership because it is run by a separate franchise entity) and Dunedin, opened at 10am today for a clearance sale of remaining products.
“The sale includes stock not already allocated to pre-existing customers affected by the receivership,“ said Kitchen Things receiver Stephen Keen, from Grant Thornton New Zealand.
“While people have the opportunity to get some bargains, they need to be acutely aware typical warranties and guarantees won’t apply to their purchases, and refunds, returns and exchanges also aren’t available.”
Customers will only be able to buy items using Eftpos and bank transfers, with stores still not accepting cash sales.
The shops will stay open with a view to achieving a going concern sale, or until as much stock as possible has been cleared.
The kitchen and laundry appliance company went into receivership last month after ongoing trading losses.
Receivers said Kitchen Things faced sustained pressure from weaker consumer demand and increased competition on pricing over the past two years.
There had been efforts to restructure and reduce costs, but these weren’t enough to offset declining sales and margins.
Key staff had been retained to manage costs and reopen stores, but some ex-employees turned up for work to find out they no longer had a job.
A former Kitchen Things employee, who spoke anonymously, told the Herald they believe there were signs the writing was on the wall for the company, which had gone through two restructures in the past 15 months.
The company was established in 1986 and sells international brands such as Smeg, Asko, Miele, Bosch, LG and Samsung.
It was originally called Kitchen ‘N’ Things and was founded by Mark Jones.
Related entities, including Applico (the group’s distribution arm), Jones Family Investments and Baumatic Appliances, were also put into receivership.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
Samuel Sherry is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald in 2025.
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