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| Oct 9, 2008 | |
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Party's over for Kandi Bar
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| LifeBrandz calls it quits for the Clarke Quay outlet in the same week as the MOS closure | |
| By cara van miriah | |
| First, Ministry of Sound (MOS) dance club closed on Monday after its last party last Saturday. Now, mainboard-listed LifeBrandz has also shut down its chic Kandi Bar by Hed Kandi.
The two-year-old Kandi Bar in Clarke Quay opened here in late 2006. It got its name from the cult music brand Hed Kandi. Occupying over 111 sq m, Kandi Bar, which featured downtempo dance music, was a popular hangout for young professionals. When contacted, LifeBrandz executive vice- president Bernard Lim did not say what will become of Kandi Bar's premises. He would only say MOS' premises will be undergoing renovation soon and will reopen in December. MOS and Hed Kandi are franchised brands belonging to London-based MSHK Group (formerly MOS Holdings). It owns brands such as MOS, Hed Kandi, Euphoria and Global Underground. The closure of the two clubs comes at a time when the two parties are entangled in a lawsuit. MOS International has alleged that LB Investments - a wholly owned subsidiary of Lifebrandz that ran MOS - had violated its licensing guidelines, including not playing the right genre of music and not maintaining a stable website. MOS International also said LifeBrandz's focus had been on promoting its stable of other nightclubs in Clarke Quay such as Fashion Bar and Lunar. British-based Nimbus Holdings, which owns the MSHK Group and MOS International, has also sued LifeBrandz, alleging infringement of Nimbus' registered trademark comprising the logo. Mr Lim said on Tuesday that LifeBrandz has instructed its law firm Tan Kok Quan Partnership to file a claim against MOS International in Singapore this week. He said LifeBrandz faxed a notice to MOS International on Monday terminating the licence agreement. Life! understands the letter alleged that the parent company did not provide proper technical support and a schedule of operating procedures covering the operation of the Singapore branch that opened in December 2005. When contacted on Tuesday, Mr Lohan Presencer, chief executive officer of MSHK, said the points in the notice 'were minor issues raised by LifeBrandz'. It appears MSHK was unaware of the last bash at MOS dance club last Saturday. Mr Presencer, who contacted Life! after reading its report on the closure published on Monday, said: 'We were shocked to receive a letter on Monday and find out about what happened over the weekend.' The closure of MOS and Kandi Bar brings the number of LifeBrandz outlets that were closed this year to five. In August, it shut down bar-restaurant Barfly by Buddha-Bar. It then opened the swanky karaoke lounge and bar Yue at the same premises, which is an extension of its Chinese club Lunar. In May, it closed molecular gastronomy restaurant Aurum and in June, Italian eatery Bice was shut down. Dance club The Clinic was downsized to an alfresco bar in September last year. LifeBrandz now has seven outlets - Lunar (formerly The Clinic dance club), Yue, The Clinic alfresco bar, Nectarie dessert bar, Fashion Bar by FTV, Balcony Bar at The Heeren Shops and Cafe del Mar at Sentosa. | |
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