The co-founder of lingerie and sex-toy success story Honey Birdette has taken the company and retail kingpin Brett Blundy to court, alleging she was short-changed when she sold her stake in the business five years ago.
Janelle Barboza has lodged court action in the Queensland Supreme Court against Honey Birdette, the billionaire Mr Blundy, his investment firm BB Retail Capital, and the US clothing giant Hanesbrands alleging breach of contract and unconscionable conduct.
Honey Birdette founders Eloise Monaghan and Janelle Barboza (right) pictured in 2011. Credit: Nic Walker
In a court filing lodged in early May, Ms Barboza said she was seeking to recover the difference between how much she was paid for her shares in Honey Birdette in 2014, and the "actual value of those shares", bought by BNT HoldCo.
BNT HoldCo is the corporate entity of fellow lingerie retailer Bras N Things, which Mr Blundy founded in the 1980s and sold to the American clothing giant Hanesbrands for $500 million last year.
Ms Barboza is also claiming damages for breach of contract.
How Ms Barboza alleges to have been short-changed, and by how much, is not detailed in the brief claim lodged with the court. Her lawyers, at Holding Redlich in Brisbane, declined to comment.
Ms Barboza and Eloise Monaghan started Honey Birdette in Brisbane in 2006, reportedly after they visited an adult shop together to buy a hens-party present. Unhappy with the sleazy experience, they saw an opportunity to open stores providing a female-friendly environment for buying racy lingerie and bedroom accessories.
Honey Birdette has 55 stores across Australia, and is rolling out in Britain and the US. Credit: Savills
Mr Blundy bought a major stake in Honey Birdette in 2011, and the brand has since built up a network of 55 stores across Australia.
The company is in the process of expanding offshore, with four Honey Birdette stores now open in the UK and four in California.
The company has at times been criticised for its raunchy advertising, and in 2017 staff protested en masse alleging management had failed to respond to harassment they frequently suffered from customers.
The concept of female-friendly sex-toy and lingerie stores is more advanced in other markets, with Ann Summers pioneering the model in the UK, and fellow British retailer Agent Provocateur now operating in 14 countries.
Honey Birdette is the latest retailer Mr Blundy has invested in and tried to chaperone to global success.
Considered one of the country's most astute retailers, he founded the Sanity record store business and Bras N Things in the 1980s, and today is worth $2 billion, making him Australia's 39th richest person, according to the Australian Financial Review's 2019 Rich List.
The now Singapore-based businessman has more recently developed and listed the fast-fashion jewellery chain Lovisa, which has 366 stores worldwide; the furniture and homewares chain Adairs, and the big-box retail property trust Aventus.
Mr Blundy's BB Retail owns about 19 per cent of Accent Group - the ASX-listed retailer behind the footwear brands Platypus, The Athlete's Foot, and Hype DC. He also owns cattle stations across northern Australia totalling about 6 million acres.
Hanesbrands declined to comment on the court case. The $8.3 billion apparel giant has established itself as a major player in the Australian intimate apparel market, after it bought the iconic Australian socks and jocks maker Bonds in 2016 for $1.1 billion.
Mr Blundy's BB Retail and Honey Birdette did not respond to a request for comment.