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The directors of failed whitegoods company Kleenmaid have appeared in court over charges the business traded while insolvent, in one of the first major insolvency cases for a business that collapsed in the aftermath of the GFC. The case comes after years of controversy surrounding the company’s failure, which affected thousands of creditors and placed the future of franchisees up in the air. Directors Andrew Young, Bradley Young and Gary Armstrong have been accused of 20 c...
One of the franchise industry's favourite pitches to potential franchisees is that the failure rate in franchising is much lower than small business in general. The argument goes something like th...
The traffic accident that is Kleenmaid continues to unfold, with administrators Deloittes releasing a final report to creditors which states that the Kleenmaid group debt has swelled from an initial amount of $73 million to more than $100 million, and that the company may have traded while insolvent since June 2007. ...
The recent decision by the owners of the 85-year-old Darrell Lea brand to place the business into voluntary administration highlights the potential risk of insolvency in franchise relationships, especia...
Some franchisees within the services division of collapsed white goods retailer Kleenmaid Group have been given a lifeline, with the new owner of the division offering former franchisees independent contractor agreements. Aussie Whitegoods Rescue, the new owner of group's still functioning services division Kleenmaid Customer Solutions, is offering franchisees new contracts to continue operations. Director of Aussie Whitegoods Rescue, Geoff Bartels, says the contracts have been of...
Kleenmaid appliances will be back on sale to the public this weekend, just under 12 months after the Brisbane-based company collapsed with 10,000 creditors. Sydney private equity firm Compass Capital Partners, which acquired Kleenmaid's intellectual property and brand last year, will open a clearance centre in the Sydney suburb of Banksmeadow on February 20, with $2 million worth of appliances on sale. And in a bid to win over some of those homeowners left stranded when Kleenmai...
It was an extraordinary attack. In late June, the Opposition's small business spokesman Steven Ciobo dramatically called on Federal Small Business Minister Craig Emerson to respond to a parliamentary inquiry into the franchising sector which recommended major changes to Australia's Franchising Code in December 2008. "I plead on behalf of all th...
The collapse of Kleenmaid is much bigger news than its relatively small size as a franchise system would suggest. First and most significantly there is the impact on an estimated 6000 customers around the country. Many of these have paid some or the full amount upfront for their appliances, and are unlikely to ever receive the appliances, or their money back. Thousands more now have warranties that are worthless, and own equipment for which spare parts are no longer availabl...
Electronics suppliers will be hit by the collapse of retailer Clive Peeters, with sources in the sector saying some suppliers could see sales fall by as much as 20% as a result of the collapse. Clive Peeters is now in the hands of receivers after collapsing with $160 million in debt. It is expected the receiver will shut down unprofitable stores and try to sell the profitable ones, with Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi seen as the likely buyers. While much of the attention has focussed...
The founders of collapsed kitchen and laundry appliance company Kleenmaid, Andrew and Brad Young, say they want to remain involved in the business and help it get back on its feet, even as the number of people affected by the collapse heads towards 10,000.   The Youngs placed the Queensland-based business in administration on Thursday with debts of around $73 million.
Debate often exists in the franchise sector about the issue of franchised versus company-owned (or non-franchised) outlets. Among retail and fixed-location service franchise systems, opinion is frequently divided about the benefit and management requirements of a company-owned network within a franchise chain. A key element in the debate is the greater organisational resources required to manage and support company-owned outlets, particularly where managers of company-owne...
ANZ Banking Group has announced it will buy out its joint venture partner ING Australia in a deal worth $1.8 billion. The bank, which has been placed in a trading halt, will purchase the remaining 51% stake in ING Australia and ING New Zealand for $1.76 billion, with the deal to be funded by internal capital. ING Australia and ING Holdings will now become subsidiaries of the bank, ending the joint venture between the two companies which began in 2002. The purchase,...
Customers who bought Kleenmaid appliances through an online auction on the day the company collapsed will receive their goods.   Last week, online auction site Gray's Online ran an auction of Kleenmaid appliances, acting under instruction from the company. The auction finished at 7:30pm AEST on 9 April, just hours after Kleenmaid collapsed into administration with debts of $73 million. ...
A small private equity firm's plans to resurrect the Kleenmaid kitchen and whitegoods brand remains under a cloud, with the liquidator of the failed company seeking advice as to who actually owns the brand. A small private equity firm called Compass Capital Partners claims it owns the brand after buying it from GE, which was a secured creditor of Kleenmaid, which collapsed in April with debts of $102 million. According to a report in the Australian Financial Review
Over Easter I had the chance to talk with smaller manufacturers and service businesses. They are scared, really scared, over what has happened to the succession of enterprises that have collapsed in the automotive supply businesses. And the same thing has happened at appliance maker Kleenmaid, and will spread to many industries with large and small groups in danger.   In essence, when a compan...
Business owners who fear their companies may be trading while insolvent need to seek advice before a disaster occurs, the liquidator leading the investigation into failed white-goods franchise Kleenmaid has warned. Deloitte partner Richard Hughes says it is critical for businesses which are experiencing cashflow problems to seek help immediately before the entire operation could collapse "The message from this investigation is if you are having trouble then seek advic...
There is rarely a bright side to observing a business on the rocks - and people losing money or their livelihoods. The Kleenmaid situation is a case in point. But is Kleenmaid symptomatic of some sort of chronic illness in franchising? The answer is ‘no' and, perhaps ironically, the proof comes from another company which has been in troubled waters: car care service provider, Midas. Many franchise businesses have flourished in the midst of the economic downturn. To...
When it comes to Australia's corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the wheels of justice turn slowly. Almost three years after whitegoods franchise Kleenmaid collapsed with $100 million in debt, the watchdog has finally launched legal action against the company's directors, brothers Andrew Young and Brad Young and fellow director Gary Armstrong. The trio face charges of 18 counts of criminal insolvent trading of debts totalling more than $...
The collapse of Angus & Robertson, Kleenmaid and several other insolvencies of both small and large franchisors in recent years have thrown the issue of franchisor failure into a rarely illuminated spotlight. Franchisor failure, like death, is an uncomfortable topic that people rarely discuss publicly. Like a sinking ship, a franchisor failure often creates a suction that drags surviving franchisees down with it, leaving only a small amount of wreckage on the surface to ...
Things are never dull in Australia's franchise sector. In the last few years, the industry has seen three separate Parliamentary inquiries, changes to the national Franchising Code, some ugly collapses (most notable Kleins and Kleenmaid) – and all the while, double-digit sales and profit growth. While the collapse of dud franchise operator Allied Brands has clearly received most of the headlines in the last few weeks, attention is now turning to Western Australia and South Australia, wh...
Creditors of collapsed kitchen and laundry appliance company Kleenmaid have been told that the company may have traded while insolvent for two years before it finally collapsed in early April with debts of more than $82 million.   A leaked copy of the report to creditors from administrators at accounting firm Deloitte has confirmed that the problems at Kleenmaid are much worse than originall...
The International Monetary Fund has said it will likely raise forecasts for global economic growth in the next few weeks, but serious problems must still be overcome. "After two quarters of sharp contraction, signs are emerging that the rate of decline in global output is moderating," IMF first deputy managing director John Lipsky told a conference organised by the Paris Club. "In the upcoming weeks, we will be updating our global growth forecasts and will likely revise modestly u...
The directors of collapsed kitchen appliance maker Kleenmaid have posted a video on YouTube explaining why the company was placed in administration and confirming that they plan to try to resurrect the business through a deed of company arrangement.   Co-founders and directors Andrew and Brady Young describe the two minute video, which is squarely aimed at disgruntled Kleenmaid customers, as...
Creditors of collapsed kitchen and laundry manufacturer Kleenmaid have been told that there is little prospect they will receive any return from the collapsed company.   More than 150 attended yesterday's first creditors meeting in Brisbane.   Many of these were among the 4500 former customers owed $27 million for goods...
Creditors of collapsed kitchen and laundry appliance company Kleenmaid have voted for the company to be wound-up, snuffing out any hopes that founders Andrew and Brad Young had of resurrecting the business. The second creditors meeting in Brisbane ended just before noon AEST today, with around 50 creditors and former customers in attendance. Most creditors have little chance of seeing any return on their debts, with total more than $100 million. The meeting was attended by t...
The Australian sharemarket has dropped lower today on negative leads from the US and fears that the swine flu pandemic will continue to worsen.   Wall Street has fallen due to lower confidence in banks and swine flu concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 8.05 points or 0.10% to 8016.95.   The benchmark S&...
Talk about Lazarus with a triple by-pass. News reports this morning suggest the Kleenmaid brand is set to be resurrected in the next few months, less than a year after the company collapsed into liquidation in one of the most spectacular collapses of the GFC. Believe it or not, but it seems that small private equity group Compass Capital, which bought Kleenmaid's intellectual property (including the brand and logo) from the receivers last year, seriously want to relaunch this brand.
New home sales rose during November after two consecutive months of falls, according to the latest figures from the Housing Industry Association. But growth in new home sales amounted to just 0.3%, the group said, due to a lack of investors plugging the hole left by fewer first home owners. New house sales dropped by 3.5% in Victoria, and by 1.8% in Queensland while in WA a rise of 12.1% was recorded. Sales were also 2.6% higher in South Australia with HIA chief economist Harley ...
Is anyone wondering how the collapse of Kleenmaid will affect their franchisees?  Over the last year we have seen Kleins Jewellery hit the wall and their franchisees forgotten.  Then there was EzyDVD foll...
The Byron Bay Cookie Company recently announced ambitious plans to expand to the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as to increase its number of stores in Australia. Later that same week, the production company at the centre of the business was
The loss of jobs and the flow impact another company collapse has is painful and saddening to read about.  But there is a more important question that I hope small business owners learn from the failure of larger companies with a greater public profile - what...