Luxury sneaker retailer Sneakerboy pursued by tax office for $1.2m

Luxury retailer Sneakerboy — facing a liquidation push from Adidas — is also being pursued by the ATO for $1.2m in unpaid super and taxes.

Luxury sneaker chain Sneakerboy has pledged to review the pay details of all current and former employees as the tax office chases it for $1.2m in unpaid super and taxes.

Sneakerboy chief Nelson Mair emailed staff on Friday, saying while he did not believe the business owed its staff unpaid super, he had ordered an in-depth pay review.

“I take this matter seriously, as our employees, past and present, remain our strongest asset and our point of difference in this competitive market,” he said in an email sent to staff Friday morning.

“We have been working methodically post the COVID period to ensure that all of our compliance is up to date. This has involved us working closely with the ATO to ensure that our calculations, and our processes are correct. My understanding is that we have paid correct entitlements to our employees.

“Nevertheless, given the feedback that we have received we have initiated a review of each and every current and former team member file.”

Sneakerboy co-owner Theo Poulakis.

Mr Mair said the business, part of the broader Luxury Retail Group which operates Mulberry in Australia, would be contacting employees as their file was reviewed.

Sneakerboy is facing a number of legal headwinds including a push by former supplier Adidas to have a court appoint a liquidator amid a standoff over a $148,000 bill.

A hearing in the Melbourne Supreme Court on Thursday heard Sneakerboy and Adidas were working on a deal to settle the matter.

But the Australian Taxation Office, represented in the hearing as a supporting creditor, requested to take over the winding up application against Sneakerboy if Adidas dropped it.

The tax office is pursuing Sneakerboy for $1.2m in unpaid taxes and superannuation although Sneakerboy disputes this and says it is up to date with all payments.

The Herald Sun has been contacted by a number of former employees following publication of Sneakerboy’s legal disputes who say they are owed super.

The employees have shown pay slips and details from their superannuation accounts to back up their claims.

Sneakerboy’s Melbourne store.

One employee, who asked not to be named, provided an email from December 2019 showing Sneakerboy acknowledged it had not paid his super and pledged to rectify the outstanding amount by January 2020.

The employee on Friday said the super had still not been paid and expressed scepticism about the company’s review.

“I don’t trust the company whatsoever,” he said.

“Upon resignation I mentioned super not being paid numerous times and they gave their word it would be sorted out right after resignation. There were many follows up and nothing was ever resolved.”

If the court ultimately approves the Sneakerboy winding up order, a liquidator will be appointed to take control of the business.

The liquidator may then choose to close the business down and sell off its assets in order to recoup funds for creditors.

Sneakerboy has three shops in Melbourne at Little Bourke Street in the city, Chadstone shopping centre and South Wharf DFO.

It is getting ready to open a new $3.5m flagship store in Sydney.

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