Collapsed furniture retailer Brosa saved last minute after Kogan.com buys it out

An online furniture company that collapsed has been saved just eight days later after an unlikely lifeline was extended.

An online furniture company that collapsed last week has been saved in a last minute rescue just eight days later.

Popular furniture and home decor retailer Brosa had been struggling ever since Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions ended, with their sales suffering as a result.

Last Wednesday, Brosa went into voluntary administration, appointing Richard Tucker and Michael Korda of KordaMentha as voluntary administrators.

But the failed company has been bought out after a bidding war ensued between 30 interested parties.

Australian online retail giant Kogan.com purchased Brosa for an undisclosed amount and has been hailed as a “white knight” by administrators.

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Brosa’s Melbourne offices.

It is understood that Kogan.com will keep operating the Brosa website and will deliver products to customers who have already paid, as long as they have the stock.

“Kogan.com will contact these customers about delivery arrangements in the coming weeks”, according to a statement from administrators.

This will begin in the new year.

Administrators are now focusing on ensuring Brosa’s employees get paid.

There are reportedly more than 60 workers at the firm, who were left up in the air right before Christmas.

“The sale of Brosa is a fantastic outcome for the creditors of Brosa,” Mr Tucker said.

Ruslan Kogan’s company, Kogan.com, has saved the day. Picture: Julian Kingma

The business exploded during the pandemic but has struggled ever since.

Brosa enjoyed unprecedented sales as e-commerce boomed at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, but has been struggling in 2022.

“The business faced challenges when sales declined after the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted,” Mr Tucker said.

“This caused short-term cashflow pressures after a period of phenomenal growth.”

Mr Tucker noted the business “tripled in size during the pandemic”.

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.

— With Alexis Carey

Originally published as Collapsed furniture retailer Brosa saved last minute after Kogan.com buys it out