Kiwibank opponent gets boot

By KEVIN TAYLOR

New Zealand Post has terminated the contract of a Christchurch Postshop franchisee who stirred up opposition to Kiwibank.

Keith Elliott said yesterday that he had lost at least $50,000 in a pending deal to sell the franchise after NZ Post wrote to him this week that the contract would end from July 26.

NZ Post said the decision was purely commercial and rejected Mr Elliott's claims that it was related to his opposition to Kiwibank and his call for a better deal for franchises.

But the state-owned enterprise confirmed last night that his was the first franchise contract ever cancelled.

An angry Mr Elliott, who owns a combined pharmacy and Postshop beside the Palms Mall in Shirley, said he had been stabbed in the back and warned other Postshops they might be bullied by NZ Post.

He said it was "payback time" because he had rejected Kiwibank and been the ringleader of a group of franchisees who had questioned the deal being offered.

The fledgling state-owned bank hit turbulence this year when some post franchisees revolted over the offer, which included a 53c transaction fee many thought inadequate.

Kiwibank needs the franchises - which account for 170 of NZ Post's 300-odd outlets - to offer the large branch network that was one of Kiwibank's biggest selling points.

Mr Elliott said he had been preparing to sell his post business for $50,000 and separate his pharmacy, which he would have continued to run.

The post franchise would have been joined by a Kiwibank branch and would have moved into the mall, under a new owner.

But NZ Post was now preparing to open a corporate store in the mall instead.

Mr Elliott said he now had nothing to sell because of the franchise termination.

In an email to fellow franchisees, he warned them to watch their backs.

"The knives are out. This is payback time.

"To me this smacks of a vindictive individual in NZP who would like to take revenge on someone who recognised that the Kiwibank contract was commercially flawed and was prepared to do something about it," Mr Elliott said.

Anti-Kiwibank campaigner and Act MP Rodney Hide said NZ Post had been bullying franchisees all year to take Kiwibank without regard to the financial impact.

"This is just calculated intimidation to shut down Keith Elliott and his business - and to send a message to all other franchisees that they had better adopt the bank or else."

Mr Hide said Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton, who got Kiwibank started with $80 million of taxpayers' money, had to take some responsibility.

NZ Post spokesman Simon Taylor said there had been a stronger business case for a corporate Postshop in the mall than maintaining Mr Elliott's franchise.

"The Palms Mall site is larger, allowing us to provide a stand-alone Postshop with a wider range of products and services and a better financial return."

He said franchise opposition to Kiwibank was no longer an issue because 80 per cent of the 170 franchisees had signed on for a branch.

The mall Postshop and Kiwibank was expected to open on July 29.

nzherald.co.nz/kiwibank