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The Wellsford store operated for 18 years.
Calls by the Wellsford community to save its only new clothing store on Rodney Road have fallen on deaf ears.
The Postie store closed its doors last week after 18 years.
An online petition started by Vivian Te Haara asking Postie to keep its store open in Wellsford has so far garnered more than 800 signatures.
However, the Postie head office in Auckland remains unmoved and staff in the store were made redundant at the start of October.
Postie chief executive Linda Leonard says she is disappointed that Postie will not be able to continue its presence in Wellsford.
“However, work is already underway to find a suitable location nearby so we can continue to have a presence in the Rodney district,” Ms Leonard says.
Ms Leonard said a recent review of the store had revealed “unresolvable, potential safety issues” which had prompted the closure.
Landlord John Smart acknowledged that Postie had made demands for remediation of the building that were not met.
He says when Postie reviewed the terms of the lease in 2013, it should have done its due diligence then.
Commercial leasing consultant Geoff Thorne empathises with both the landlord and Postie, and says the situation is indicative of the state of commercial property in Wellsford.
He says the age of the buildings and the cost to bring them up to standard make it difficult for landlords to get a return on investment.
But Wellsford’s old buildings have not deterred landlord Dennis Gaskell, who owns the building currently tenanted by Wellsford Chemist.
He says the building is about to undergo a major upgrade, including replacing the carpets and further weather proofing.
“You’ve got to keep at the buildings. I live in the town and you have to look after them,” Mr Gaskell says.
Mr Gaskell approached Postie staff about leasing the chemist building, which will soon be vacant as the pharmacy is relocating, but got no response.
Similarly, landlord Rakesh Patel offered to lease the current Health and Wellness store building but was turned down due to its small size.
Leasing consultant Geoff Thorne also made contact with Postie to offer the former Doidges Tyres building, at the southern end of town.
Wellsford Plus chairwoman Tania Hamilton says the loss of Wellsford’s only clothing store is devastating.
“I have never seen so much support for a retail store in Wellsford,” she says.
“It was positive for the town to have a clothing store at just the right price point.”
She says Wellsford Plus is seeking funding to beautify the main street to encourage retail activity.
Former Postie staff members Paula Horscroft, Whitney Conolly and Khelley Hurring thanked customers for their support.
“Our regular customers have become like family. We have loved seeing people leaving the store with a smile on their face,” Paula says.
