Touch of sadness as CBD loses long-standing retailer
Wendy Smith will miss the smiling faces and the chatter when she ends four decades behind the counter of The Accessory Shop in Timaru.
‘‘The only reason I am closing is because I am old.
‘‘The girls who work here have been here for 25 to 30 years. They are also at retirement age. We deserve it,’’ she said.
The shop, which has been in various spaces in Timaru’s Stafford St, will hopefully be out of accessories by December, Smith said. ‘‘Everything has to go.’’
She said the one thing she will miss the most is the customers, and ‘‘the girls’’.
‘‘I have been a bit overwhelmed by all the people coming in saying they are sad to see me close.
‘‘I will miss all the chatter the most. I am a bit of an old-fashioned retailer you could say, as it is all online prevalent.’’
Smith’s father, John Preen, started Miss Timaru in 1960, and with some gentle encouragement Smith decided to complement the family businesses in her own way.
‘‘I developed The Accessory Shop. I got a bit of a motivation from my father to quit teaching and go into fashion, and I decided to do it in my own way, by selling accessories. ‘‘And here I am 40 years later.’’ When asked what has changed the most in retail over the past four decades, Smith couldn’t define it.
She said she was glad to see Stafford St still going strong with shops, but said she was sad they had shifted from owner-operated to corporate.
‘‘The whole world has changed. ‘‘I am sad that the store is closing, but I have to do it, I could have carried on, but I am at retirement age, and I am ready for the next chapter.’’