Collapsed retailer Australian Fashion Labels finds a buyer but lets go of all staff
January 13, 2021
After a tense weekend, Australian Fashion Labels has entered in to an exclusivity arrangement with a buyer for the business’ assets.
Marcus Ayres, managing director of administrator Duff & Phelps told
Inside Retail he was unable to secure a buyer for the business as a going concern, nor did he have sufficient financial resources available to him to pursue a recapitalisation.
As a result, he needed to terminate all 45 staff on Monday night.
“We worked really hard trying to get a buyer to pick up all the employees and sell this as a going concern, but it wasn’t possible for us in the tight timetable that we really needed to [make the arrangement in],” Marcus Ayres, partner at administrator Duff & Phelps, told
Australian Fashion Labels administrators are getting ready for Friday
By Imogen Bailey | 11 January 2021
The first creditors meeting in the administration of Adelaide-based Australian Fashion Labels (AFL) will take place on January 15.
The business entered voluntary administration on January 06, appointing Duff & Phelps administrators Brett Lord and Marcus Ayres to handle the process.
According to reports from
Smart Company, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 as well as legacy costs from restructuring to an online-only business put the company under intense pressure. The legacy of those restructuring costs, plus the impact of COVID-19 on sales have become an increasing hang on the business, administrator Ayres told the publication.
Adelaide-based Australian Fashion Labels collapses into voluntary administration
January 8, 2021
Adelaide-based fashion retailer Australian Fashion Labels has collapsed into voluntary administration, putting 57 jobs at risk as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put pressure on Australia’s retail sector.
Marcus Ayres and Brett Lord of Duff and Phelps were appointed as voluntary administrators of the business on Wednesday and are now seeking a buyer or the necessary capital to keep the business viable in the future.
The business, which specialises in affordable luxury apparel, is home to four in-house fashion labels including Finders Keepers, C/MEO Collective, Keepsake and The Fifth, as well as the online retailer Bunker Online.