About 50 Godfreys staff to lose their jobs

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Godfreys store.
Photo: Google Maps

About 50 retail workers will lose their jobs when vacuum cleaner business Godfreys shuts down in May.

The company went into voluntary administration in January with hopes that it could be sold to a new owner, but administration company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) could not find a buyer.

“We’ve had to make the decision to undergo a controlled wind down of the Godfrey’s business,” administrator Stephen White said.

That wind down would take about two months, White said.

“We want to realise the stock we’ve got, get that sold over a period of time to maximise value.”

But once the remaining stock was out the door, the people selling it be too.

“In New Zealand there are around 50 employees currently working in the business, so unfortunately at some point over the next few months those people will more than likely lose their jobs,” he said.

“There are 11 company-operated stores and nine franchise stores. We’re just dealing with the company operated stores, so those 50 employees [work at] those stores.”

Franchise owners could keep their stores running, but not under the Godfreys name.

“The franchise agreements with Godfreys will no longer operate,” White said.

“Those franchisees, if they so wish, will be able to have conversations with their landlords to secure ongoing tenancy so that they may continue to operate their businesses under a different brand.”

Stephen White said PwC received some bids for Godfreys but none were high enough.

“We won’t go into specifics [on bids] but based on the analysis we’ve run we believe we’re likely to get better value from realising the stock as opposed to the offers that came through.”

He said the economic climate likely scared potential buyers away.

“It’s a tough retail environment, and it’s a very specialised business,” White said.

“There just weren’t any parties that came forward who were willing to take the business forward.”

Customers in the market for a vacuum cleaner could expect discounts.

“Ultimately it remains to be seen how quickly we can sell the stock… but we’re confident we’ll be able to sell it… [That] will inevitably include some promotional activity,” he said.

“We’re not anticipating a big liquidation sale in the next week or so [but] there will be various promotions.”