Hill and Stewart appliance stores are disappearing from Auckland's retail scene after first opening in the city in 1951.Australian company JB Hi-Fi, which bought the chain from its management in 2006, said the Hill and Stewart stores were a small part of
Hill and Stewart appliance stores are disappearing from Auckland's retail scene after first opening in the city in 1951.
Australian company JB Hi-Fi, which bought the chain from its management in 2006, said the Hill and Stewart stores were a small part of its business in this country and it was "struggling for scale" in that part of the market, The New Zealand Herald reported today.
Hill and Stewart stores in Albany and Manukau have already shut their doors, Botany is to close on Sunday, and the St Lukes outlet will keep trading until excess stock is sold.
JB Hi-Fi chief executive Richard Uechtritz told an Australian website the company wanted to focus on its nine JB Hi-Fi stores around the North Island.
Hill and Stewart co-founder John Stewart said he was sad to see the end of a name that had been around for almost 60 years.
He had hoped the brand, which at one point had 10 stores around Auckland, would outlive long time competitors such as Bond and Bond.
In the early 1980s he had sold all but the Takapuna store to individual owner-operators. The Takapuna store was sold in 1987.
