Potential buyers swarm embattled furniture chain, Brosa

A troubled furniture chain could be saved from doom as its administration sparks a flurry of buyer interest.

Embattled online furniture retailer, Brosa, could still be saved after a late surge in interest from potential buyers after going into administration this week.

On Wednesday morning, it was announced that Brosa – a popular online furniture and home decor retailer – had appointed Richard Tucker and Michael Korda of KordaMentha as voluntary administrators.

But on Friday, Mr Tucker said more than 30 approaches were made in two days after the appointment of administrators.

“The potential buyers have been given details of Brosa’s operations, and they are doing their due diligence,” he said.

“We hope to have a deal in the next week before the first meeting of creditors.”

Mr Tucker said buyers were particularly interested in Brosa’s online expertise and unique customer base, calling called on customers to be patient so the administrators can focus on saving the business.

Stream more business news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

Brosa went into administration this week.

“I understand the frustration of customers who are waiting for deliveries. But we must concentrate almost completely on this window of opportunity to save the business and provide a better outcome for customers,” he said.

“We are assessing orders and stock so we can inform customers about their orders as soon as possible.

The administrators will contact customers by email as soon as this analysis is completed.

“This, however, will likely take the Administrators some time”.

The administrator said Brosa grew rapidly during the pandemic, driven by a spike in online shopping.

“The business faced challenges when sales declined after the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. This caused short-term cashflow pressures after a period of phenomenal growth,’ Mr Tucker said.

According to the Brosa website, the company was “born out of discontent with the status quo, and a desire to change the furniture industry for the better”, with the founders disagreeing that premium furniture had to come with a premium price tag, given “that price is often inflated with mark-ups to accommodate other costs, like importers and wholesalers”.

As a result, Brosa “removed importers, wholesalers and high-end stores from the equation, opting for a completely in-house team that manages the Brosa brand”.

Brosa co-founders, David Wei, Ivan Lim, Richard Li. Source: Supplied

The Melbourne-based start-up was launched by CEO Ivan Lim along with co-founders David Wei and Richard Li in 2014.

In 2017, the company made headlines after raising $5 million in Series B funding, with Mr Lim talking up plans to disrupt the $13 billion furniture industry.

The are now more than 60 employees working for the firm, with news of the collapse leaving them facing an uncertain future just days from Christmas.