Smiths City has confirmed it will be moving to new premises between Crawford and Vogel Sts after its lease at the mall expires.
Consumer general manager James Matthews said the retail chain had been looking for a new site for “quite some time” and an exact departure date was yet to be confirmed, but would be later in the year.
He confirmed the store would relocate to a new site in Crawford St, opposite Big Save Furniture, and no staff would be affected by the shift.
“Staff are excited and looking forward to the move. The mall wasn’t an ideal location for the types of products that we sell.”
Smiths City is not the first massive retailer to vacate Meridian Mall.
In 2020, it lost Australian-owned retail giant Kmart, which cited concerns about required seismic strengthening work within the premises and chose to vacate the building.
A Meridian Mall spokeswoman declined to comment, saying discussions with tenants were confidential.
The mall had introduced a Les Mill gym, Chemist Warehouse and Kathmandu and had renewed a raft of existing retailers and looked forward to introducing new retailers to Dunedin, she said.
A resource consent application by Smiths City said the new store would occupy lots across Crawford and Vogel Sts.
The document said the tenancy would result in exterior and interior alterations, a small carpark and a loading area.
A building consent for demolition work had also been issued.
Animal Attraction owner Judi Johnson said she was told in about February her lease at the former Crawford St premises was not going to be renewed and the business needed to be out by the end of June. Other tenants were also asked to vacate and she was later told Smiths City would be moving in.
Animal Attraction had leased the building for 18 years and she had been “devastated” by the news, and everyone was “very disappointed” they had been forced to relocate.
