Administrators reveal 28 Napoleon Perdis stores have already shut

Hundreds of jobs are on the line as the Napoleon Perdis makeup empire crumbles, following a failed bid to save the company.

Dozens of Napoleon Perdis stores across the country have already closed following last week’s shock announcement the beloved beauty brand had collapsed.

On Thursday news broke that the troubled company had appointed Simon Cathro, Chris Cook and Ivan Glavas of Worrells Solvency Accountants as administrators.

All of the cult beauty brand’s 56 Aussie stores closed for stocktake that day, and were reopened on Friday as the company launched a massive, three-day sale with 30 per cent off items in-store and online.

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But yesterday, it was revealed half of the Australian stores had already closed for good.

In a statement, Worrells announced “the beginning of the restructuring phase of the administration” after assessing the “past performance, the right sizing of the business as a whole and the location” of each store.

As a result, 28 stores across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia were shut.

Priceline is one of the creditors owed money after the collapse of the Napoleon Perdis beauty empire. Picture: James Croucher

Mr Cathro said there had been “strong sales results” over the weekend, and that the decision to shut down half the company’s stores had not been “taken lightly”.

“The administrators have undertaken an assessment of each store over the weekend, factoring in past performance, the right sizing of the business as a whole and the location,” he said.

“As result of this review we have identified a number of stores that will be closed.

“This decision has not been taken lightly and we are aware that this will have an impact on employees and customers.”

He also stressed that affected workers would be paid as per their entitlements — but stopped short of revealing just how many jobs would be lost.

“These staff will be paid their wages owing up to the date they are terminated,” he said.

“Some staff have been offered other roles within the Napoleon Perdis Group. We have been extremely pleased with the high level of support the staff have provided both to Napoleon himself and the business.

28 stores have already closed for good. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Waugh

“No doubt this has contributed to the strong sales results over the weekend.”

Founder Napoleon Perdis thanked his staff and stressed it was “not goodbye”.

“I want to say a big thank you to the staff who have all tirelessly gone above and beyond during this challenging time,” he said.

“(The) closures are a necessary and anticipated step in the restructuring process. And while it feels like a sad time, this is not goodbye, and it gives us the best opportunity to keep the business trading through the administration process.

“We’ll be back in a new, more dynamic and innovative way.”

Mr Cathro said there had been “significant interest” in the sale of the business, with the first meeting of creditors to be held on Tuesday, February 12 in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth.

While the announcement seemed to come out of the blue for many beauty lovers, Fairfax media reports the company had been in talks for almost a year before the administrators were finally appointed.

Napoleon Perdis was loved by the public and celebs like Jennifer Hawkins alike. Picture: News Corp Australia

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, documents filed to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) yesterday revealed Perdis had been trying to sell up for more than a year before the collapse, with an initial meeting with Mr Cathro taking place on March 29, 2018.

The Australian Tax Office, ANZ Bank, landlord Stockland and the Priceline chain are among the company’s creditors, although the total amount owed has not been released.

STORE CLOSURES

A total of 28 stores across the country are now set to close.

They include Macquarie, Broadway, Wagga Wagga, Casuarina, Wetherill Park, Charlestown, Wollongong, Double Bay, Eastgarden and Hurstville in NSW, Canberra in the ACT, Cairns, Caneland Central, Browns Plains, Pacific Fair and Toowoomba in Queensland, West Lakes in South Australia, Hay Street, Joondalup, Rockingham and Whitford in Western Australia and Bendigo, Chapel Street, Eastland, Knox City, Melbourne Emporium, Werribee and Southland in Victoria.

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