Arthur Barnett (department store)
Absolute Service and Value Absolutely Arthur Barnett, Absolutely Right (radio)
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| Private (previously Public) | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Dunedin, New Zealand |
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Key people
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Sue Smaill, last General Manager Michael Coburn, Director Nicholas Scott, Director Trevor Scott, Director Julian Smith, Director |
| Products | apparel, cosmetics, accessories, homeware, furniture, general merchandise |
| Website | arthurbarnett.co.nz |
Arthur Barnett Ltd, trading as Arthur Barnett and often referred to as Arthur Barnett's, was a department store in Dunedin, New Zealand. Established in 1903 by Arthur Barnett the store first began as a drapery for men and boys, progressing over the years to become one of Dunedin's most successful department stores. As well as their flagship George Street store, Arthur Barnett had stores in Balclutha, Alexandra, Oamaru, and Christchurch. They also briefly had a branch in Melbourne, Australia which operated from 1970 to 1977. This branch sold mainly carpeting and furniture. The final Arthur Barnett store (on site of its first on George Street in Dunedin) and its online store was taken over by Invercargill-based department store chain H & J Smith in 2015.
The 1924 Arthur Barnett building designed by Edmund Anscombe was a landmark on the northern part of George Street, Dunedin. It was devastated by fire in 1959, with only the building shell and one major stained glass window surviving. It was rebuilt in 1960s modernist style behind the existing facades, the main retail floor being a soaring glass-roofed structure, inspiring the store's slogan of that era: "the Daylight Store." This was demolished progressively in 1995-7 and replaced by the Meridian Mall incorporating a reduced-size Arthur Barnett store across two levels.
Arthur Barnett took over the ailing D.I.C. department store company in the 1980s. The D.I.C. had stores throughout New Zealand and should have proven a good geographical match for Arthur Barnett. In particular, the D.I.C. had 4 stores in the Auckland market, New Zealand's biggest. In December 1987, Arthur Barnett bought the trading assets of the three South Island stores and 50% of the 13 North Island stores which were run as a joint venture with Brierley Investments Ltd. Arthur Barnett Ltd bought the 16 D.I.C. stores outright in July 1988. The D.I.C. Stores were in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Lower Hutt, Palmerston North, Wanganui, Hastings, Napier, Gisborne, Rotorua, Hamilton, Pakuranga, Henderson, Karangahape Road (Auckland), Takapuna, and Whangarei.
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