A Melbourne company has collapsed owing $1.95 million to 140 creditors, with the director of the business “overwhelmed” by its failure, according to the liquidator.
The business, Blinds City, described itself as Australia’s leading online store for customised and pre-made DIY window blinds, shutters and other window furnishings.
But its demise has impacted 75 customers, who are collectively owed $142,000 after paying a deposit and not receiving their goods, the liquidator told news.com.au.
Eddie Muscat of Mayfields Business Advisors was appointed as the liquidator on August 1.
Stream more business news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >
The company’s failure has also hit 12 employees who are owed outstanding entitlements, Mr Muscat said.
He is still gathering evidence to determine what went wrong with the company, he added.
“The director has been overwhelmed by the failure and has not yet provided statutory required information sought from him,” he told news.com.au.
“On August 19 we negotiated a settlement with the landlord, which will enable the liquidator to recover the books and records from the premises, and deal with the customers whose stock is on site.
“The liquidator will be seeking assistance from ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) if the director remains unwilling or unable to assist.”
A number of customers have left comments on a review site claiming they are thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Others claimed they had waited weeks for blinds to be installed only to discover later that the company’s phones had been disconnected.
Blinds City’s website and social media accounts have been taken down.
Have a similar story? Continue the conversation | sarah.sharples@news.com.au
‘Massive rise’ in company collapses
It’s no secret there has been a “massive rise” in Australian companies collapsing but recent findings showed they have skyrocketed by a whopping 50 per cent since April.
The construction sector has been plagued by dozens of companies folding this year caused by a perfect storm of supply chain disruptions, skilled labour shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, and extreme weather events.
Tech companies in particular are also struggling in Australia with investors spooked by dramatic plunges in valuations making funding harder to find.
The latest tech outfit to be impacted was a Melbourne-based e-sports company called Order, which raised $5.3 million in funding last year, but collapsed last week with liquidators seeking to sell the business urgently.
Then there was an Australian tech company called Metigy, which left staff “shell-shocked” by its sudden collapse earlier this month, after it planned to raise money with a valuation of $1 billion.
Last month, Australia’s first ever neobank founded in 2017, Volt Bank, went under with 140 staff losing their jobs, while 6000 customers were told to urgently withdraw their funds.
From delivery start-ups to influencer brands
More Coverage
Other failed businesses include grocery delivery service Send, which went into liquidation at the end of May, after the company spent $11 million in eight months to stay afloat.
A Victorian food delivery company that styled itself as a rival to UberEats and Deliveroo also collapsed in July as it became unprofitable, despite making more than $6 million worth of deliveries since it launched in 2017 and had 18,000 customers.
There was also a popular Australian e-commerce eyewear brand called Soda Shades, which collapsed owing $2.3 million due to tough market conditions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read related topics:MelbournencG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7xaKlmqaTmnyjwdKipZ6ro2S%2FpsDAoqNopZWhr7DB0aecZpufor2iuthmmqiknJa9tLHSZqawoZ6cenKFjKagpaSZpLtuw8itn2ZvZWKwtr%2FTqKSeqqNitq68wJyrnpxfo7K4v4ysq6iqqWSvd4XFbm5rb2JosXqAxZtqn5xjm4V3g5Zta2lvYWmDpg%3D%3D