Closing time: once-mighty Harris Scarfe Adelaide store has been reduced to a bundle of clothes and some toasters
Nearly two centuries of retail history will come to an end when Harris Scarfe’s Adelaide store closes for good on Sunday. You can still grab a bargain (there are still toasters), but get in quick.
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Harris Scarfe’s Adelaide store is all but empty, with a handful of shoppers picking over a meagre collection of underwear and electrical goods, which remains to be sold.
It’s a sad end to the department store’s historic place in Adelaide, which dates back to 1849.
The store is scheduled to close tomorrow, Sunday February 2, after the company’s receiver, Deloitte, announced earlier this month that the Adelaide store was one of 21 to close around the nation.
Harris Scarfe’s other 44 stores will continue to trade as Deloitte continues the process to sell the company.
None of Harris Scarfe’s other eight stores across SA is set to be closed at this stage, however there is no guarantee a prospective buyer will keep them all open.
The company has stores at Arndale, Gepps Cross, Kilkenny, Tea Tree Plaza, Oaklands Park, West Lakes, Elizabeth and Noarlunga.
Harris Scarfe was placed in administration on December 11 last year by Allegro Funds, which had taken ownership of it just days before.
It owes about $160m to creditors, with Allegro, as a secured creditor, at the front of the line to get paid.
Harris Scarfe was founded on Hindley St, city, in 1849 before moving to Grenfell St in 1877.
The company’s former Rundle Mall site was sold and the store demolished, with a new store reopening Rundle Place in 2013.
SDA secretary Josh Peak has told The Advertiser previously that the move was a “disaster”.
“This closure is the result of poor decision making that has driven its flagship store into an unprofitable position over the past 15 years,’’ he said.
“It is clear now the redevelopment of the site has been an unmitigated disaster for Harris Scarfe.’’
The past six months have been extremely difficult for Australian retailers.
Jeanswest, which operates 146 stores across the country, including 14 in South Australia, collapsed in mid- January , and so far this year EB Games, Bardot and Curious Planet – previously known as Australian Geographic – have also announced they would close stores.