Kirks’ clearout: Spend up while you can
KIRKCALDIE & STAINS’ last winter sale was a special occasion worth dressing up for, and marked the end of an era for many of its loyal customers.
Christine Murdoch was among hundreds of bargain hunters on a mad scramble for the best deals during the first day of the sale yesterday.
‘‘I decided to wear my best hat today because this is a special occasion,’’ she said.
She had so many bags of shopping and planned to sneak them into her house to hide them from her husband.
Every year at the sale she saw the same people, and it was often an occasion to meet up with family and friends to have a cup of tea and shop. ‘‘It’s sad Kirks will be closing.’’
The store is to shut in February after 152 years. David Jones will pay A$500,000 (NZ$554,930) to take over the Kirkcaldie & Stains name and the lease on its building. The site will reopen in mid-2016 as the first New Zealand branch of David Jones.
Valerie Moates, who recently moved to Napier but was back in the city for the sale, described herself as a ‘‘loyal customer’’ who always shopped successfully at Kirks. ‘‘I have been to the sales at Kirks for the past 50 years, and probably many more with my mother before that.
‘‘The store still looks lovely, as it always does. I’ll be sad to see it go, as will a lot of my friends.’’
Kirsteen Johnston and Bernice Croft met for lunch and watched as hordes of people loaded their arms with bulging red ‘‘sale’’ bags. ‘‘It’s great to see so many people, it’s a fantastic day and a great day out,’’ Croft said. ‘‘But it’s disappointing Kirks is going out of business.’’
The women’s shoe department drew huge crowds, with shoppers scurrying between the half-price bags and shoes strewn across the floor. Homeware and makeup were also popular.
Neville Wellbourn has been opening the heavy, brass front doors for shoppers at the department store for 10 years.
In days gone by, people queued around the corner waiting to get in on the first day, he said. Yesterday, there was a queue, but it was smaller. ‘‘This will be my 20th sale and it’s going very well.’’
He was kept busy, opening both doors at lunchtime, when crowds flooded the store. ‘‘The sale is such a big thing in Wellington, it’s always been an institution.’’
Radomir Jelena said he came with his wife to buy a winter coat, but she had decided to buy other items too. ‘‘I didn’t expect to be shopping for this long or spend so much money.’’
Many shoppers wanted to know if this was the last big sale, firing questions at the shop assistants, who did not know the answer.
Kirkcaldie & Stains acting chief executive Orsola Del Sante-Bland declined to say whether there would be another sale before the store closed. ‘‘It’s business as usual until January.’’