Last Dick Smith stores in Australia to close by May 3; over 3,000 affected employees to receive pay by mid-June

By May 3, all the remaining stores of Australian electronics chain Dick Smith will close their doors for the last time across the country.

Dick Smith’s administrators Ferrier Hodgson announced that 195 stores in Australia will shut down between April 27 and May 3. This comes on the heels of the first round of closure involving 35 stores, which started in late March of this year.

The shut-down has affected close to 3,000 employees from around 300 stories in Australia, as well as over 400 staff from about 60 stores in New Zealand, all of whom have already been notified about the closing dates. With regard to compensation, all Australian staff are expected to be paid in full, as they rank above other creditors in terms of priority. Employees in New Zealand, on the other hand, are entitled to be paid out to a maximum of NZD22,160 (AUD19,940), under the country’s laws.

Ferrier Hodgson administrators said that the payment of employee entitlements should be completed by mid-June 2016. “We would like to thank the Dick Smith employees for their support during the controlled closure process. This is a difficult and uncertain time for them and we have really appreciated their commitment,” receiver James Stewart said.

In early January, Dick Smith announced that it has gone into receivership after its lackluster performance drove the company into large debts. After failing to find a suitable buyer, the Australian electronics chain had no choice but to close down its stores. "While we received a significant number of expressions of interest from local and overseas parties, unfortunately the sale process has not resulted in any acceptable offers for the group as a whole or for Australia or New Zealand as standalone businesses," receiver James Stewart said, according to a report by ABC.

Whilst all the remaining brick-and-mortar stores of Dick Smith are shutting down, its online store will continue to operate after online retailer Ruslan Kogan acquired the business.

[READ: “Dick Smith saved by Kogan, to be restructured into online-only business”]

In light of the closure, Dick Smith has launched a huge closing down sale involving thousands of items, where “everything must go.” It has slashed off up to 50 per cent on the price tags of audio and headphones, speakers, home theatre, DVD and Blu-Ray players, GPS and cameras, as well as home appliances. Other items, meanwhile, are discounted up to 80 per cent.