H&M closes Tauranga Crossing store after seven years, two tenants to replace it
Shoppers have been left mystified after H&M quietly closed its only Bay of Plenty store last week.
The international fashion company was a flagship tenant when it opened in the Tauranga Crossing shopping centre’s enclosed mall in 2019.
Now the retailer has shut its doors without so much as a closing-down sale.
Amy Harris visits the shopping centre frequently and said she was “shocked” to find out H&M had closed.
“I love buying clothes from there, now the nearest one is in Hamilton so I’ll have to drive all the way there.”
Mathew Nash said he went to H&M Tauranga last week and when he came back the following day, the store was closed. The day after that, it was empty.
“I saw a pair of trousers I thought I’d maybe get the next day if I was still keen, but then the whole store was gone the next day.”
Nash – a journalist at NZME, publisher of the Bay of Plenty Times – said H&M seemed to “disappear overnight”, without even a closing-down sale.
Other shoppers the Bay of Plenty Times spoke to said they had no idea H&M had closed.
Tauranga Crossing told the Bay of Plenty Times there were “commercial sensitivities” around the closure.
“H&M have been a part of our community for almost seven years, and they have been a valued tenant during this time,” a statement said.
The global fashion retail giant opened in Tauranga in April, 2019, spanning about 2600sq m over two levels with a staff of about 50.
It offered apparel and accessories for men, women, and children, as well as homewares.
At the time, it was the Stockholm-headquartered chain’s fifth New Zealand outlet.
H&M arrived in New Zealand in 2016 and currently operates four stores in Auckland, two in Christchurch, one in Wellington, and another in Hamilton. It has more than 4000 stores worldwide.
The Tauranga store closed on January 7, H&M New Zealand confirmed to the Bay of Plenty Times.
“The store closed as we did not reach a renewed lease agreement for the lease.”
Customers who were signed up to H&M fashion news were notified of the closure directly.
Where possible, staff had been relocated to other stores, “giving them the opportunity to continue their careers with us”.
H&M said it had no further store closures to announce and looked forward to welcoming customers at other locations.
Tauranga Crossing chief executive Andrew Campbell thanked H&M for the retailer’s contribution to the centre and its customers over the years.
“The transition was initiated by Tauranga Crossing and mutually agreed to in early 2025.”
Campbell said Tauranga Crossing was evolving and the centre was continually assessing its retail offerings, “growing with the needs” of its community.
“We are excited to announce that much-loved brands JB Hi-Fi and Cotton On Mega will be opening significant new stores in this space in the next few months.”
The closure of H&M Tauranga is one of many retail closures announced across New Zealand over the last week – and not the only one to impact Tauranga Crossing.
RNZ reported that EB Games had told staff it was shutting down its New Zealand business and closing all stores at the end of this month.
Tauranga Crossing told the Bay of Plenty Times it was only notified this week that the mall’s EB Games store would be closing, which was “unexpected”.
“As we were only notified this week, we are in early discussions with several potential retailers.”
The shopping centre opened a $55 million, 8100sq m expansion in October, which included a 6500sq m, two-level flagship Farmers store.
The remaining 1600sq m of new space was tenanted by speciality stores, including a Toyworld and Stirling Women.
The shopping centre opened in 2016 with an outdoor town centre and dining precinct, followed by its nearby lifestyle centre in September 2018.
The first stage of the enclosed shopping centre opened in October 2018, and a cinema complex plus another 70 retailers – including H&M – opened in the $150m stage two development in April 2019.
Campbell said with the recent opening of the new Farmers, Tauranga Crossing was now in an “exciting phase” of growth.
The centre sits beside major infrastructure upgrades, including the Cambridge Rd intersection on SH29, the Takitimu North Link and the continued expansion of the Tauriko Business Estate.
“We remain committed to creating a vibrant, future-focused destination for the region and look forward to keeping the community updated on our plans,” Campbell said.
Kaitlyn Morrell is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.