Canty liquor store baron sells half his empire
Fines and negative publicity over underpaying his staff and poor record keeping are behind the sale of half Harjit Singh’s former liquor store empire.
Nekita Enterprises, controlled by high-living businessman Singh, operated about a dozen outlets in Christchurch when allegations emerged in January
2019 that it was underpaying work visa staff and sometimes forcing them to refund wages.
Singh and Nekita were in September last year fined a combined
$125,000 by the Employment Relations Authority’s (ERA) for paying staff less than the minimum wage and failing to keep vital employment records. They were cleared of allegations that employees were forced to pay back some money they earned.
Since May 2020, Nekita has sold six of its operations. Singh said the sell down was the start of winding up his liquor business, and he would consider his options next year for the six he retained.
‘‘You don’t sell everything at the same time,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m getting old as well and so it’s a good time to wind up and consolidate.’’
The ERA proceedings, the fines and the negative publicity had ‘‘upset the whole thing’’, and were part of the reason for the sales, he said.
‘‘It wasn’t easy for anybody. It was hard on the family and me – the whole media thing, it doesn’t help.’’ At one stage he had decided to pack his bags and leave the country.
‘‘That was the way I felt with the way the media was treating us. Pack my bags and never come back. But time is a great healer. You can’t live your life like that.’’
A company called SVJ Company, the shares in which are owned by Jhansi Rani Kondaveeti, has taken over the former Super Liquor Brighton at
15 Beresford St and the former Super Liquor Seaside bottlestore at 13/126 Brighton Mall. Singh’s company Three Angels Holdings
(2010) continues to own the property at 15 Beresford St, property records show. Paraparaumu company DNK Hospitality Ltd – which is owned by its directors, Kamaldeep Kamaldeep and Amritpal Singh – is now the licensee of Woolston Sports Bar at 669 Ferry Rd.
Lyttelton Liquor Ltd (directors and shareholders Amanjot Kaur and Pavneet Singh Nagra) owns Henry’s Wairakei, at 291 Wairakei Rd, while Goldfish Traders (Ravi Gilhotra and Harsh Malhotra) are the new licensees of Thirsty Liquor Wigram, at 3/1 Musgrove Close.
Canterbury Liquor, at 608 Ferry Rd, Woolston, is now operated by Desai Investments (Hemal and Neetu Desai).
Singh said he had no connection with the buyers of any of those stores.
Nekita Enterprises is still the licensee of Ferrymead Wines and Spirits, at 9 Humphreys Drive; Canterbury Liquor, at 51 Pages Rd; Canterbury Liquor, at 42 Norwich Quay; Wainoni Liquor Store; at 169 Pages Rd; Canterbury Liquor in Woodend; and Woodham Rd Liquor, at 191 Woodham Rd.
The bottle stores have rebranded under the red and black Canterbury Liquor umbrella, and are now ‘‘satellite stores’’ of Thirsty Liquor Group Ltd. Singh said Nekita currently employed 15 staff, down from 45 before the other stores sold.
In February last year, Super Liquor Holdings chief executive Campbell McMahon said the company had cut ties with Nekita Enterprises because ‘‘there is no place in the Super Liquor franchise community for this kind of behaviour’’.
ERA member Peter van Keulen, who ruled on the employment breaches last year, said the company ran a ‘‘dual payment system’’ where employees were paid some hours they worked through the payroll system and the rest at a reduced rate using cash from store tills.
That meant staff were paid less than minimum wage for some hours they worked.
Van Keulen said the failure to keep both wage and time records, and holiday and leave records, was ‘‘systemic, probably arising out of the likely widespread operation of the dual payment system and Nekita’s practice of recording insufficient employment information’’. ‘‘I conclude that all of the breaches were intentional, and were designed to minimise the gross amounts paid to employees and limit the amount of holiday pay paid,’’ he said.
‘‘You don’t sell everything at the same time . . . I’m getting old as well and so it’s a good time to wind up and consolidate.’’
Harjit Singh