The jobs of five staff at Dunedin's Nature Discoveries shop are in doubt, after the store's owners confirmed plans to walk away from the business.
The shop, in Dunedin's Meridian Mall, would cease trading in its present form on Sunday, unless a new owner prepared to take over its operation could be found, owner Shane Vermeer said yesterday.
He said he was in negotiations with a third party, but unsure of the likely outcome, when approached by the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
The future was uncertain for the outlet's two full-time and three part-time employees, but he would be "recommending them" to any new owner, he said.
He had owned the business for five years, and wife Anita was manager for five and a-half years before buying it, he said.
He was reluctant to comment further, saying the decision to close was "still pretty raw at the moment".
The Dunedin store was part of a national franchise chain including eight others in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Invercargill.
A typewritten sign on the shop's window thanked customers for their "continued and loyal support and custom" over five years.
"Our journey with Nature Discoveries will cease 30th November 2008. Thank you again - we thoroughly enjoyed our time here because of you," the note said.
