CBCH, which operates 140 stores across Australia and New Zealand, is now in the hands of Deloitte Restructuring Services. The administrators, Vaughan Strawbridge, Sam Marsden and Jason Tracy, have indicated they will attempt to re-capitalise or sell the business, with the first meeting of creditors to be held on 12 February.
“Given the strength of the brand, we are confident we will be able to secure a future for the business and preserve the employment of as many people as possible,” Strawbridge said.
He confirmed that stores will remain open and staff will continue to be paid during the administration process.
The collapse was blamed on poor retail trading conditions and a failed deal to secure more funding. Several other high-profile retailers have fallen into administration in recent months, including Jeanswest, Harris Scarfe, and Bardot.
Strawbridge, who has also been appointed administrator of Harris Scarfe, told the Sydney Morning Herald, “I don’t think we've seen this number of retailers who’ve struggled at the same time before, but it would be a real shame if those businesses didn't come out of administration.”
CBCH is owned by its founders Colette and Mark Hayman and financial group IFM Investors.
Changing fortunes
Colette Hayman founded CBCH in 2010, three years after selling fashion jewellery chain Diva to BB Retail Capital, owned by entrepreneur Brett Blundy.
That same year, Blundy and associate Shane Fallscheer founded a ‘sister’ jewellery chain, Lovisa. Within five years, Diva had reportedly been placed into liquidation, with stores either closed or converted to Lovisa locations.
There are 390 Lovisa stores worldwide and the publicly listed company reported $250.3 million in annual revenue for FY18-19 – a 15.3 per cent increase on the previous year.
In comparison, CBCH had expanded to 118 stores by June 2014 and director Mark Hayman expressed a desire to open a further 32 stores in Asia, Europe and North America under a franchise model.
However, it did not reach that target and recently withdrew from the South African and UK markets. When it went into administration on 31 January 2020, annual revenue totaled $140 million.
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