Christchurch department store Ballantynes has confirmed a small number of staff roles have been affected as the company navigates what it describes as one of the most challenging retail environments in years.

Staff were told at a meeting last week the store and the retailer sector was facing challenging times.

Managing Director Jonathan Ballantyne told chrislynchmedia.com “The retail sector, including Ballantynes, has faced major shifts in recent years due to economic challenges, rising costs, and evolving consumer behaviour,” he said.

“We have responded to these challenges and stayed very focused on what our customers want. It is a topic we talk to our staff about regularly at face to face meetings and through other communications.”

Managing Director Jonathan Ballantyne

Ballantyne said the company regularly reviewed its operations to ensure it remained responsive to market conditions.

“Recently we have made small changes to our staffing structure, affecting the roles of around 1%, out of a total staff complement of just under 300 people.

We have worked closely with the staff affected by this process,” he said.

“We are confident these changes are appropriate to the circumstances facing Ballantynes and won’t have any impact on how we look after our customers.”

“It’s against that backdrop that the whole Ballantynes team is focused more than ever on delivering exceptional experiences and service for our customers,” said Ballantyne.