Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments has hit back at criticism of its hardline tactic of not paying rent when it closed stores during the coronavirus pandemic and for receiving the JobKeeper subsidy, and will close a store in a Melbourne mall co-owned by Salta Properties, which had called out the retail chain.
The move brought the conflict between major retailers and large landlords into public view with Premier saying it would also pull out of a deal to open another store in the Victoria Gardens centre as it claimed that its priority was maintaining jobs amid the pandemic.
Salta Properties managing director Sam Tarascio, a scion of the Melbourne-based billionaire property development family, brought the row to attention by posting over the weekend about Premier’s use of the JobKeeper government wages subsidy package.
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