the former chain see arthur barnett . this article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information . please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject s importance use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance . june 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message arthur barnett ltd type private industry retail founded 1903 headquarters dunedin new zealand key people sue smaill general manager 1 michael coburn director nicholas scott director trevor scott director julian smith director 2 products apparel cosmetics accessories homeware furniture general merchandise website arthurbarnett.co.nz arthur barnett ltd trading as arthur barnett and often incorrectly referred to as arthur barnett s is 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 . today arthur barnett continues to operate a single store on the site of its first on george street in dunedin . arthur barnett today contents 1 history of the chain 1.1 d.i.c. takeover 1.2 meridian mall and a single store 1.3 recent ventures 2 departments 2.1 beauty 2.2 former departments 2.3 can t stop 3 ownership 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history of the chain edit 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 . d.i.c. takeover edit 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 . at its peak arthur barnett ltd had over 1200 staff and 19 stores the 16 former d.i.c. stores along with its own branches in alexandra balclutha and dunedin . however the merger did not work well and all d.i.c. stores with the exception of christchurch were closed within 2 years . by 1992 the majority of the d.i.c. assets were disposed of and the company was able to concentrate on its stores in dunedin alexandra balclutha and christchurch . in 1987 the christchurch store in the beaths department store building was re branded as arthur barnett 3 and refurbished within the high street mall development in the city s centre . the alexandra and balclutha stores were closed in 1995 and 2001 respectively . the balclutha store was taken over by rival invercargill based department store chain h & j smith . the d.i.c. debacle cost arthur barnett around nz 20 million and as a result the company had to borrow heavily to help finance the meridian mall project in 1995 . arthur barnett is located at 285 george street the meridian mall meridian mall and a single store edit the meridian mall opened on 5 september 1997 with the final development costs close to nz 50 million . as the main anchor tenant arthur barnett had the greatest floor space spread across two levels although this being only about half that of the old store . 4 the main and lower floors are linked by escalators with a more upmarket appearance than previous arthur barnett stores . the meridian building was sold in 2003 with the proceeds used to retire debt . finally in february 2006 the christchurch store was closed . many of the staff were able to be relocated to other retailers including farmers and ballantynes . citation needed the company now only operates the dunedin department store which acts as otago s luxury department store specialising in cosmetics fashion homeware and school uniforms . recent ventures edit in mid 2011 a small arthur barnett outlet store was opened in christchurch s hornby dress smart discount shopping centre 5 6 following the christchurch earthquakes . the temporary store was closed in 2012 . also in 2011 arthur barnett opened the arthur barnett gift shop at the front of the meridian in the former kimberleys store . the gift shop was later changed to a clearance shop and closed by 2012 to be replaced by a new veronika maine store . 7 8 mid november 2012 saw the opening of a temporary cosmetics clearance shop in the upper level of the meridian . during ousa orientation week o week in march the company operates a branded marquee at the university of otago . the kiosk manned by two clinique beauty consultants promotes the store and beauty department to new students . the marquee did not appear in 2013 . the former arthur barnett logo used until 2013 in late 2012 arthur barnett began using a redesigned logo in their advertising . the new logo uses a lower case sans serif font with a capitalised subtitle the department store . 9 absolutely arthur barnett absolutely right is still used on radio advertising . the company opened a temporary clearance shop in the meridian in early 2013 the space was formerly supr and was closed by june . early 2013 saw the company launch online shopping . on 16 april 2013 arthur barnett held an event fashion and food with peta mathias hosted by celebrity peta mathias at the recently reopened toit otago settlers museum . 10 janine tindall morice commented this event signals arthur barnett s desire to engage with our female customers in a fresh and dynamic new way . 11 in august 2013 the store launched a loyalty programme arthur barnett rewards . 12 the company followed up their successful peta mathias hosted event in october with fashion in the chapel hosted by model rachel hunter at the john mcglashan college chapel . the event launched the store s spring and summer fashion collections . 13 departments edit arthur barnett currently holds 14 departments 14 across the ground and lower floors of the meridian . departments include beauty ; lingerie ; men s fashion or menswear ; women s fashion or ladies wear ; lifestyle apparel accessories & hosiery ; children s fashion ; luggage ; casual living or homeware from late 2011 with dedicated concept areas for citta design 15 and french country ; home linens ; small appliances ; furnishings ; and schoolwear . 14 additionally reception and the arthur barnett caf are located on the lower level . within the home linens department is the wallace cotton concession . 16 beauty edit the well established beauty department is the largest and most comprehensive south of christchurch . makeup and skincare are available at serviced cosmetics counters for m a c yves saint laurent and most recently jurlique exclusive in the south island all exclusive to arthur barnett in otago and southland . the fine fragrance counter is the largest in dunedin . arthur barnett formerly housed dunedin s only smashbox counter . in early mid 2009 smashbox was relocated to new rival life pharmacy in the new wall street mall nearby . other former beauty counters include christian dior and until the brand s withdrawal from the new zealand market in mid 2009 origins . 17 18 arthur barnett lower level entrance former departments edit former departments include electronics and large appliances whiteware featuring fisher & paykel . from 2007 these departments were branded as the store within a store 100 % arthur barnett under the new zealand 100 % electrical franchise . 19 100 % and its product areas were removed in mid 2010 with only small appliances retained as an independent department . also in 2007 17 space was made within the casual living department for the nest sic homeware concept store 20 as a separate store within a store . 21 the entire nest sic franchise collapsed into receivership in october 2010 . 22 in mid 2010 the lower level of the meridian mall was reconfigured considerably decreasing the store s floor space in what was originally its own mall . independent toy retailer toyworld moved into a new store built in the space left by the reduced size arthur barnett . 23 can t stop edit can t stop . the advertising sign for arthur barnett is a prominent feature on the dunedin skyline . named can t stop this neon sign features a small man representing the firm s founder trying to control a large horse possibly a clydesdale . the sign was designed by the new zealand artist heber thompson for the 1924 arthur barnett building designed by edmund anscombe which until 1995 stood on the site now occupied by the meridian mall . ownership edit arthur barnett was listed on the new zealand stock exchange until a nz 9.5 million internal takeover by company directors julian smith and trevor scott took the company private in 2002 through their company belwash holdings ltd. 24 25 see also edit h & j smith smith & caughey s kirkcaldie & stains ballantynes farmers references edit shoppers slower after brisk start page 2 otago daily times online news otago south island new zealand & international news . odt.co.nz . 2010 12 15 . retrieved 2014 06 08 . directors . business.govt.nz . retrieved 2014 06 08 . heritage new zealand . historic.org.nz . retrieved 2014 06 08 . time to clock off for good otago daily times online news otago south island new zealand & international news . odt.co.nz . 2011 07 16 . retrieved 2014 06 08 . rae sally 3 june 2011 . arthur barnett store returns to christchurch . otago daily times . retrieved 17 january 2012 . caudill antonio 9 august 2013 . people save money in online shopping . retrieved 27 march 2013 . reflect image great news dunedin shoppers veronika ... . facebook . retrieved 2014 06 08 . cue veronika maine . meridian mall . retrieved 2014 06 08 . arthur barnett foto s video s van arthur barnett . facebook . 2013 03 05 . retrieved 2014 06 08 . facebook . facebook . retrieved 2014 06 08 . pike jane 20 april 2013 . fashion and food with peta mathias . otago daily times . retrieved 22 april 2013 . welcome to arthur barnett rewards . 25 august 2013 . fox rebecca 9 october 2013 . down to earth hunter charms fans at show . otago daily times . retrieved 11 october 2013 . a b new zealand lifestyle guide brown bear indulge . brownbearindulge.co.nz . retrieved 2014 06 08 . stylish and affordable otago daily times online news otago south island new zealand & international news . odt.co.nz . 2011 11 29 . retrieved 2014 06 08 . about us . wallace cotton . retrieved 2014 06 08 . a b ab xmas dd