Iconic furniture store Le Cornu to close in Adelaide, with 70 jobs likely to be lost
ADELAIDE’S iconic Le Cornu furniture business on Anzay Highway at Keswick is to close, with the likely loss of about 70 jobs.
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ADELAIDE’S iconic Le Cornu furniture business is to close.
Fantastic Holdings today announced it would close the business over the next six months with the likely loss of about 70 jobs.
The company says it hopes to redeploy about 25 of its current staff of 95 at the Keswick site.
Fantastic owns two company-owned Le Cornu stores, in Adelaide and Darwin, which compete directly with nine Harvey Norman franchised stores across both cities for the “mass market” category.
It had decided to close the Adelaide store while the Darwin store will remain open.
Adelaide staff met with the company’s management this morning where they were told the store would be closing.
Chief executive officer (retail) Debra Singh told a media conference the mood inside the store was “sad” after she broke the news to its staff, including one person who had worked with Le Cornu for 45 years.
“It’s a really tough day for Le Cornu,” she said.
“Le Cornu has been absolutely iconic in Adelaide market for many, many years.”
Ms Singh said staff were aware the store had been performing poorly in recent years amid strong competition from other retail outlets.
Fantastic Holdings announced in 2011 that it would review the Le Cornu business because it was underperforming.
The company said at the time that extreme competition in Adelaide’s furniture retail market had prompted Fantastic to consider “ownership options” before expanding the Le Cornu brand interstate.
Fantastic, which bought the Le Cornu business in 2008 for $1.3 million, said the brand had underperformed to its expectations.
Fantastic also owns Fantastic, Dare, Plush and Original Mattress Factory brands.
The company will instead concentrate on opening three new stores in South Australia under the Furniture and Plush brands in the future.
Ms Singh said the company’s immediate priority would be helping the Adelaide employees who would be made redundant.
“All these employees are dedicated, hardworking people and we are committed to working professionally and sensitively with them over the close down period,” she said.
“The Le Cornu business has been an icon in the Adelaide retail market for many decades, largely due to the committed, dedicated, passionate people in the business.
“Like us, they will be proud of the mark that Le Cornu has made in South Australia.”
Fantastic leases the Keswick site, which has been for sale since late 2015.
Ms Singh said the decision to close Le Cornu had been further strengthened by the impending end of the lease period.
“The fact that the land was up for sale and will be developed helped us make the decision,” she said.
“We only have a lease here for another 12 months.”
Potential buyers of the site are understood to be considering various redevelopment options.
Ms Singh said she understood the large Le Cornu sign was heritage-listed.
“It’ll (probably) still be a landmark,” she said.
“That sign is a heritage sign so nobody can do anything with that sign.”
But an advertiser.com.au search of the State Heritage Register did not provide any evidence that the sign is heritage-listed.
“This morning has brought some pretty devastating news for the 95 or so workers here down at Le Cornu”
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) assistant secretary Josh Peak said the union was “absolutely devastated” Le Cornu was closing.
“It’s a really shocking time for our members and their families,” he said.
“There’s many staff here who have committed their life to this workplace and we’re going to be working with them pretty closely over the coming months.
“We understand that there is a portion of the workforce that Fantastic have committed to taking into other parts of their business.”
“We’re calling on them to bring in as many of the Le Cornu employees to make sure that most people do have a soft landing from this but, as I said, it’s absolutely devastating for the workers and their families.”
Shopper Heather Randall said the loss of jobs at the Keswick site added to the state’s high unemployment rate.
“To give (employees) six months’ notice, it’s horrible,” she said.
“I think IKEA has made it tough on them (the company).”
Elaine Williams, of Croydon, said the closure was a “shame” for the state but she hoped to return to buy new furniture when the store began its shopping sale.
Annalisa Paragalas, of Woodville Park, was sad to see another South Australian iconic site facing closure.
“I don’t know how the state is going to recover, we’ve got manufacturing closing down, we’ve got retail closing down and now another 70 jobs,” she said.
Ms Paragalas said the likelihood of high-density living being developed on the site could mean devaluation for nearby properties.
“Why are we building more units for? Why aren’t we looking after the people that have got properties?” she said.
“Why don’t we look after businesses in South Australia? We’re so concerned with building units...(but) that’s short term.”