Kleenmaid the Australian appliance Company has been placed into administration with debts of over $67M. The Company that by majority direct sells through their own and franchised stores has over $26M owing to over 6,000 customers who had placed deposits on Kleenmaid appliances.
Kleenmaid the Australian appliance Company has been placed into administration with debts of over $67M. The Company that by majority direct sells through their own and franchised stores has over $26M owing to over 6,000 customers who had placed deposits on Kleenmaid appliances.
2800 trade creditors are owed $12 million and $28 million is owed to secured creditors including banks and other finance lenders.
Late yesterday senior management of the Queensland based Company were confronted by angry customers one wielding a sledgehammer according to the Queensland Courier Mail.
During the past 12 months the Company has struggled to refinance debt according to administrators John Greig, from Deloitte as a result up to 150 employees are facing a bleak future.
Also set to be hit are consumers who purchased Kleenmaid products because of their 2 and 3 year warranty offers along with extended warranty offers of up to 8 years on certain products.
According to former Kleenmaid management these warranties are now considered to be “worthless”.
Up to 6000 customers, some of whom have paid as much as $40,000 on kitchen appliance orders, are set to be left empty-handed and unable to get a refund.
Kleenmaid founder and owner Andrew Young who is a deeply religious man was yesterday confronted by angry shareholders when he turned up at the Companies Sunshine Coast offices in a late model Audi A6.
According to insiders Young knew that the Company was in trouble 12 months ago with some staff who are set to lose their jobs demanding to whether personal assets were removed from the ownership of directors during the past 12 months in an effort to avoid them being swept up into the liquidation of the Company.
When asked by News Ltd newspaper The Sunday Mail where the $27 million in customer deposits had gone, Mr Young said the cash had been swallowed up in “funding cash flow” and “business expansion”. He said the company’s business model of using customer deposits to fund other areas of the business “had not worked”.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission are set to investigate the situation.
