The Warehouse's Kaikohe landlord was bullied into signing a lease on the company's terms after it threatened to close the store, he says.
Photo: 123rf.com
The Warehouse announced last night it was closing, blaming the landlord, but said this morning it was now able to stay open because he had come back to negotiations.
But the landlord, John Levers, said the company told him it would close the store if he didn't agree to a cut in the length and value of the lease.
He was annoyed he was being painted as the bad guy by The Warehouse when he was only trying to stick to his guns, he said.
"I'm absolutely gutted for those poor staff that I believe have just been used as pawns in this. Whether they were ever going to fully close or not - only if you were a fly on the wall at the board meeting would you know that," he said.
The building was his only investment. He had a mortgage and had lost out financially in the new deal, he said.
"Unfortunately the big bully got too much. So now I've folded, they've got what they want and I'm screwed."
The Warehouse chief executive Pejman Okhovat said he did not agree with Mr Levers' version, especially that the company forced him.
"Actually, we are the tenant here. Ultimately, he rejected our offer and from where we are standing we had no choice," he said.
The company was genuinely preparing to vacate the premises because as far as they were concerned, there was no longer a lease, Mr Okhovat said.
"What we were very delighted with is actually our landlord got in touch with us this morning and he actually agreed with the terms that we offered him last week. So, we are delighted that he accepted and we want to stay," he said.
The lease was for two years and there was no guarantee what would happen to the store beyond that, he said.
