JasonL acquires collapsed Gregory’s Commercial Furniture, promises to fulfil $500k stranded orders
A furniture retailer has rescued a collapsed rival, promising to deliver $500,000 worth of stranded customer orders after the 37-year-old Sydney company was locked out and terminated all staff.
Furniture retailer JasonL has bought a collapsed rival and promised to deliver $500,000 worth of orders to customers left waiting, after the company was locked out of its site and terminated staff.
JasonL has acquired the commercial furniture brands under former ASX-listed Inventis Group which went into voluntary administration and stopped trading in June - including 37-year-old Sydney manufacturer Gregory Commercial Furniture.
It also purchased the Basset and workstations brands for an undisclosed amount.
The Inventis furniture companies owed an estimated $29.8m to creditors and was locked out of their Arndell Park site in Western Sydney due to unpaid rent, a report from administrators Simon Cathro and Andrew Blundell of Cathro & Partners said.
The companies also terminated all staff when they entered administration.
Parent company Inventis was delisted from the ASX in late August due to not paying its annual listing fees for the 2026 financial year.
JasonL has promised to fulfil Gregory’s outstanding orders and retain its Australian manufacturing in Adelaide.
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JasonL co-CEO Marc Levin said his company was trying to re-hire Gregory staff who had not yet found a new job.
He also said it had contacted multiple customers who paid deposits to determine if they still wanted to have their orders completed.
It was also reviewing all warranty claims and figuring out if it could honour them.
“Legally, we are not required to fulfil existing orders or honour past warranties,” Mr Levin said.
“However, in the interest of supporting previous customers, preserving the integrity of the brand, and simply doing what we believe is right, we are assisting wherever possible.”
The companies’ ABNs were not purchased, so all outstanding debts otherwise remain with the administrators, Mr Levin added.
The acquisition has followed JasonL’s purchases of Equip Office Furniture in June this year and another furniture brand, Uplifting, in March 2023 - both of which are not connected to Inventis.
Mr Levin said the deals were part of a plan for JasonL to reach $100m in annual turnover by 2030.
“Acquiring ageing but highly trusted brands allows us to preserve Australian design heritage while modernising and scaling it,” he said.
He added the office furniture industry had been majorly disrupted over the last decade, with the rise of eCommerce and “highly competitive, high-quality manufacturing from China”.
“Traditionally, the industry operated on a made-to-order model with local manufacturing that was protected by geographical limitations and transport challenges,” he said.
“The shift to flat-packed, high-quality, online-sold furniture has fundamentally reshaped the market.
“Many longstanding business owners - particularly those from the baby boomer generation - have struggled to adapt and often lack succession plans.
“As a result, consolidation is happening naturally across the sector.”
Gregory’s was founded by physiotherapist Peter Gregory in 1988, who designed its first product, an ergonomic office chair. It was eventually bought by Inventis.
Mr Levin said out of the Inventis furniture brands, “Gregory Chairs is undoubtedly the standout”.
“It is one of the most recognised names in the office furniture industry - trusted for more than 30 years and still highly sought after across government, healthcare, and corporate sectors,” he said.
Mr Levin started the JasonL company with his brother Jason 14 years ago, with an investment of $50,000.
The company is “actively exploring the market” for further acquisition opportunities next year, he said.
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Originally published as JasonL acquires collapsed Gregory’s Commercial Furniture, promises to fulfil $500k stranded orders
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