Sixty jobs safe as Kaikohe's Warehouse agrees on new store lease

April 5, 2018

The Warehouse Kaikohe will remain open as the Northland store has agreed on a new lease. 

The announcement of the potential June closure of The Warehouse store in the Far North worried unions and locals, with Kate Davis of First Union telling 1 NEWS they were "shocked and dismayed" at the possible loss of about 60 jobs.

However, the Warehouse Group released a statement this morning they were "delighted to announce that its Kaikohe store landlord got in touch this morning".

Warehouse CEO Pejman Okhovat said they "always wanted to stay in Kaikohe, that's why we'd been working hard with the landlord to negotiate new leasing terms since July last year, and we're really pleased he's now decided to agree on a new lease". 

NZ Herald reported staff were informed yesterday that The Warehouse Kaikohe would close for the winter if it could not find a new location to operate, as it was unable to extend its lease at its current premises. First Union understood it was a permanent closure. 

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones told NZ Herald he knows the owner of the Kaikohe Warehouse site and Mr Jones claims he was only offered a two-year lease. 

Ms Davis said it was an "unusual situation to offer a two year lease, especially in a small town like Kaikohe where real-estate is hard to come by."

"Kaikohe is an area really troubled by incredibly high unemployment so they're dependent on companies like The Warehouse."

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