A tense split between a Scandinavian furniture company and a Brooklyn-based retailer, known for its stylish sofas, has left around 300 frustrated customers without their orders.
The collaboration between OMHU, famed for its trendy teddy sofas, and Teak in Greenpoint has generated significant revenue, turning the retailer into a trendy fixture in Brooklyn. However, due to a contract disagreement with OMHU, Teak has advised customers to dispute credit card charges of $2,500 per sofa, as it struggles financially and cannot retrieve its inventory from a nearby warehouse in New Jersey.
“I want these good people to see who they really are,” Teak’s CEO Caitlin Maestrini expressed her frustration regarding OMHU’s actions.
She added, “They really stepped on us.” According to her, the staff has been deeply impacted, to the point that some have been moved to tears upon receiving payment.
Customers have taken to social media, voicing dissatisfaction about delays in receiving their modular sofa beds, with many having waited months for delivery.
The confusion reportedly began on August 6 when the head of OMHU announced that the contract with Teak would not be renewed, less than a week before its expiration on August 16—this came without the required 90 days’ notice, as claimed by Maestrini.
OMHU is venturing into the U.S. market with plans to open its own warehouse in North Carolina, as stated by executive Simon Salomonson.
With the contract termination, Teak not only loses its exclusive selling rights for OMHU products in the U.S., but also is no longer permitted to sell them in its Greenpoint location.
Mastrini noted that she had invested $150,000 promoting OMHU’s items across the country for three months, inadvertently boosting OMHU’s future sales.
“They just wanted to carve out their own market,” she lamented, reflecting on what she saw as a betrayal after a 27-month relationship.
Teak also offers a variety of other high-end items from Northern Europe and Scandinavia, with OMHU accounting for about 75% of their sales—a severance like this could spell disaster for the Brooklyn store, she noted.
“I told him, ‘You’re going to destroy everything I built,’” she reportedly conveyed to Salomonson.
Faced with the prospect of a major revenue loss, Mastorini said the company had to pivot quickly and unfortunately lay off its entire retail staff.
While OMHU has not provided any comments, officials from the company assert that Teak was not required to give 90 days’ notice, and the contract was standard—a non-exclusive, one-year agreement which expired automatically.
The dispute has left 300 teddy sofas stuck in a New Jersey warehouse due to financial constraints preventing transport. Mastorini intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restore some order.
Customer Jasmine España shared her experience of ordering a teddy sofa in June, initially expecting delivery in eight weeks, which turned into three months—now leading her to a $2,900 dilemma.
She tried contacting Mastorini for a refund but found the 30-day processing timeline unacceptable. “I totally get that things went wrong, but holding onto that money feels very unethical,” she expressed.
“Especially now, when I’ve been saving for a special treat. And now, I’m still waiting to order a new sofa, which would take another two weeks—over four months without proper seating.”
Ultimately, España disputed the charge and received a full refund, a course of action that Mastorini is now suggesting to other customers waiting for their refunds.
Mastorini is in talks with a delivery partner to enable customers to pick up their couches directly, but she knows that this process might take time.
