Dick Smith stores look very surreal as wind-up gathers pace

IT’S NEARLY over for Dick Smith. This is what the inside of a store looks like now, and it’s pretty depressing.

What Dick Smith looks like now

WITH less than a month until the final Dick Smith stores close for good, it seems there isn’t much left for staff to actually do.

Reddit user thebossadam has posted a photo of the inside of one Dick Smith store with the caption, “Entering a Dick Smith store these days is rather surreal”.

The photo shows a completely empty store, shelves stripped bare, with “Everything must go!” signs plastered everywhere. “I think everything has already gone,” they wrote.

“As an ex-Dick Smith Employee, this saddens me,” user Marz said.

“Holy s*** someone bought the Dick Smith branded TVs,” user probspot pointed out.

All gone. Picture: thebossadam/reddit

User Terminthem said their local Dick Smith was “selling the security scanner gates from the front of the shop last time I was in there”. “That really drove it home for me,” they wrote.

Late last month, receivers Ferrier Hodgson confirmed all of the retailer’s 363 remaining stores would close by April 30. Thirty-five will close between April 9 and April 16.

Staff had previously complained they had not been told when their stores would be closing, making it difficult to search for other work.

Images of passive-aggressive signs spotted went viral after staff vented their frustration with messages such as: “When are we closing? How long is a piece of string?”

Another sign was spotted by reddit user exaei in Melbourne. “The store in Glen Waverley have a sense of humour about it, definitely a surreal experience though!” they wrote.

Spotted in Melbourne. Picture: exaei/reddit

A Facebook group set up for Dick Smith employees to share career opportunities has attracted more than 800 members, with a number of companies including Flight Centre, iiNet and Cotton On reaching out via the page.

“You have staff that had 10-20 year tenures that are in this predicament now,” former Dick Smith employee Graham McFarland told news.com.au last month.

“They haven’t done an interview in a long time, recruiters are saying it’s an employees’ market but we’re finding out it’s not.”

Last month, entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan purchased Dick Smith’s online store and intellectual property for an undisclosed sum. Kogan will take control of the Dick Smith website in June.

“We would like to thank the Dick Smith employees for their support during the controlled closure process,” receiver James Stewart said last week. “This is a difficult and uncertain time for them and we have really appreciated their commitment.”

AUSTRALIAN STORES

Tamworth NSW 9 April 2016

Hurstville NSW 9 April 2016

Lake Haven NSW 9 April 2016

Leichhardt NSW 16 April 2016

Penrith NSW 16 April 2016

Rhodes NSW 16 April 2016

Campbelltown NSW 16 April 2016

Carnes Hill NSW 16 April 2016

Winston Hills NSW 16 April 2016

Rockdale NSW 16 April 2016

Marrickville NSW 16 April 2016

Wollongong NSW 16 April 2016

Toowoomba QLD 16 April 2016

Airlie Beach QLD 16 April 2016

Glenelg SA 16 April 2016

North Park SA 16 April 2016

Golden Grove SA 16 April 2016

Mt Barker SA 16 April 2016

Victor Harbour SA 12 April 2016

Whyalla SA 22 March 2016

Kingston TAS 16 April 2016

Wendouree VIC 16 April 2016

Mildura VIC 16 April 2016

Mornington VIC 18 March 2016

Sale VIC 16 April 2016

Cannington WA 16 April 2016

Riverton WA 16 April 2016

Carousel WA 16 April 2016

NEW ZEALAND STORES

Glenfield 9 April 2016

Thames 9 April 2016

Invercargill 9 April 2016

Orewa 9 April 2016

Masterson 9 April 2016

Alexandra 9 April 2016

Levin 9 April 2016

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