Godfreys to shut as no buyer found

The search for a buyer for an iconic retailer has been abandoned with all 160 stores to close and 600 staff left without jobs.

The search for a buyer for the failed vacuum cleaner retailer has been abandoned with all 160 stores to close and 600 staff left without jobs.

The search for a buyer for failed vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys has been abandoned with all 160 stores to close and 600 staff left without jobs.

In a statement the company’s administrators, Craig Crosbie, Robert Ditrich and Daniel Walley of PwC said that despite “conducting a comprehensive process to identify a purchaser for the business, no viable offers to take the business forward as a going concern have been submitted”.

They added that 55 expressions of interest and six indicative offers were received but “with interested parties withdrawing and no satisfactory bids to acquire Godfreys store network yet received, the administrators have no other option but to commence a progressive wind-down of Godfreys’ operations in Australia and New Zealand.”

All 141 Godfreys stores will close.

From today, the company’s 25 head office staff have been made redundant, will all other staff to go as a “phased closure of all stores” will occur between now and May 31.

The administrators said stores will continue to trade in the short term as they look to clear stock “after which stores will be notified that closures will take effect”.

The administrators added that Godfreys franchisees have been informed that the company can “no longer support them” as of today.

“Franchised stores can trade until March 31 to realise the value of existing stock or alternatively return stock sold to them during the administration period to receive a credit on amounts owed to Godfreys”.

“This is not the outcome Godfreys had hoped for following a rigorous process to find a purchaser for the business that could keep the store network trading,” the administrators added.

The company traded for almost 100 years.

“In the absence of any further bidders coming forward as intermittent trading continues, the process of closing all remaining stores will progress over the next eight weeks.”

News.com.au first broke the news of Godfreys collapse on January 31.

The administrators initially restructured the business, closing 54 stores and sacking 193 people in a bid to save the company.

Godfreys Group was best known for selling vacuum cleaners and other cleaning products, and remembered for its unique television commercials.

One of the commercials showed their vacuums being so strong they could suck up a bowling ball.

Godfreys has been an established business for nearly 100 years, beginning operations in 1931.

Godfrey Cohen launched the first eponymous Godfreys store in Melbourne’s Prahran Market.

“Like many retailers, Godfreys has faced a challenging economic and operating environment,” Mr Crosbie said at the time of the collapse.

“Lower customer demand amid cost of living pressures, higher operating costs, and increased competition have all taken a toll on profitability, with some stores more impacted than others.”