Local fashion house BritishIndia is crying foul after its Suria KLCC branch was told to move to another location in the mall or to face eviction by the management. BritishIndia, a tenant of Suria KLCC since 1998, was given 4 days to unconditionally accept the offer to relocate.
According to BritishIndia founder Pat Liew, they were served the letter in July 2014 despite being a competitive paying tenant and the management receiving rental for the same month.
“After receiving our rental and the monies clearing into their account, they issued BritishIndia the vacate-within-four-days letter. Their actions towards tenants such as BritishIndia calls to question their motive,” said Liew.
Liew said that BritishIndia was seeking an injunction to prevent the management of Suria KLCC from carrying out its threat. The injunction hearing is scheduled for 24th Feb.
“We found out that our current premises is intended to be leased to a foreign fashion brand that already has an existing location in Suria KLCC. We are left with no choice but to resort to legal action to protect our rights and be treated fairly,” she said.
Liew said the brand used its store frontage in Suria KLCC to promote Malaysia and prove that a Malaysian brand can be on par with international global brands.
“If BritishIndia is forced to leave, it will mark the end of a successful Malaysian fashion brand having a presence in the country’s iconic shopping mall,” she said.
This isn’t the first time BritishIndia is taking action against Suria KLCC as the clothier sued Suria KLCC Sdn Bhd in 2010 for allegedly failing to offer a new lease on the premises it has occupied for almost 12 years in the shopping mall. BritishIndia has more than 40 stores in leading malls in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.
What are your thoughts on this? Do let us know in the comment section.
The High Court has set the date of March 23rd (Monday) for case management over an undertaking proposal by BritishIndia to Suria KLCC. The court had initially fixed Thursday to hear the injunction applied by the fashion house against the mall.
Justice Nor Bee Ariffin also fixed June 29th and 30th to hear the main suit. According to N. Sivaraj, the lawyer representing BritishIndia, his client would know Suria KLCC’s response to the proposal on March 23rd.
BritishIndia will still maintain its location space in Suria KLCC pending the decision of the injunction.
The fashion house claimed on May 28th, 2014 that it was informed that the mall were not planning to renew the former’s tenancy. It also claimed that it was told to unconditionally accept the terms of the offer to relocate to the second floor, or have its premises boarded up.
BritishIndia is one of the mall’s original tenants and have rented the premises for 16 years.
via The Star Online
