In a note to shareholders, the company said the Cumberland St site was too large and no longer met health and safety requirements. Much of the site was vacant or under-utilised and did not enable Farmlands to adequately meet the overall needs of customers and staff.
Farmlands had been working hard to find a new retail store site over the last 12 months but premises which were fit for purpose were difficult to find in Dunedin.
A new tenant would take over the entire lease and, while the company would have liked to have found a new site before that happened, it was the right decision to consolidate the business to its Taieri store, it said.
When asked for comment, a Farmlands spokesman said Dunedin customers would be served from the Taieri store until a "more appropriate" premises could be found in the city, that was better suited to both the needs of customers and the co-operative.
Many of its larger customers were already managed from Taieri by the company’s technical field officers who visited them on-farm, while Dunedin customers could also visit the Taieri store — which would be open at the weekends — or make purchases over the phone or online.
There were 12 staff affected and all the team had been invited to join the Taieri store through that period. Some of the Farmlands support team, based in Dunedin, also had the option to work from home.
The company remained committed to the greater Dunedin region and its local shareholders and customers.
"We are working to provide a store network, including in Dunedin, that will better meet our customers’ needs and provide a better experience and product selection when they visit," he said.
