By Benjamin Lim for The Straits Times

Copyright tnp

Home-grown business Hao Corp’s lease at the former OG Orchard Point building has been terminated by the landlord OG, just 18 months after the launch of its groceries and food and beverage (F&B) concept mall Taste Orchard.

Its supermarket Hao Mart and the sub-tenants, including Japanese sushi chain Sushiro and Killiney Kopitiam, must now vacate and hand over the premises by Dec 31.

In letters personally addressed to tenants dated Sept 12 and signed off by Hao Mart’s senior vice-president of operations Jupri Suep, the master tenant said it was notified by OG of the termination of its lease for Taste Orchard.

No explanation was given in the letters.

Tenants were requested to vacate and hand over their units “in the same condition and state” as at the start of their tenancy; and to return all locks and keys, together with Hao Mart’s fixtures and fittings, “in good and substantial repair order and condition”, by Dec 31.

ST has reached out to Hao Corp for comment.

Hao Corp’s master lease termination comes as a surprise, as units were still being listed for rent as recently as July.

The lease agreement was originally signed for 7½ years and covers all five levels of the building at 160 Orchard Road, with a total retail space of over 155,000 sq ft.

Department store OG had occupied the space for 18 years before it shut down in October 2022.

Hao Corp had taken three floors of the building from Basement 1 to Level 2 for its Eccellente by Hao Mart supermarket when the building reopened in February 2024.

The mall’s first two floors feature F&B operators, with service providers like salons and education centres taking up the next two floors.

In April, the supermarket scaled down, vacating its basement unit to relocate its non-food products to Level 2. As at Sept 16, it is still operating on levels 1 and 2.

The 20,000 sq ft basement unit was reportedly going for a rental rate of $180,000 a month, but the listings for this have since been removed. No units at the building are currently listed for rent.

There were reportedly numerous empty units on levels 1, 3 and 4, as some F&B businesses have already ceased operations.

Korean fried chicken restaurant BHC Chicken located on Level 1, whose master franchise rights in Singapore is held by Hao Mart, closed on Sunday.

It is still listed on Taste Orchard’s website, along with 13 F&B outlets and eight other businesses.

Hao Corp’s chief executive Tan Kim Yong told the Straits Times in January 2024 that with a long-term lease signed for Taste Orchard, he was in it for the long run and had plans to replicate the concept.

He added that being in the unique position of being both landlord and tenant meant that the company’s biggest challenge was to curate a trending and differentiated mix of offerings.

Hao Mart was established in 2016 as a retail supermarket and minimart chain. It consolidated its small minimart concepts over time as they could not compete against the bigger supermarket chains in the heartland.

According to its website, it currently has 20 supermarkets across Singapore.