The vacuum and cleaning retailer has appointed voluntary administrators amid a struggle with profitability and sales.
The move would result in some store closures and redundancies in the coming weeks in both New Zealand and Australia, The New Zealand Herald reported.
When contacted yesterday, Stephen White, of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), who, along with John Fisk, has been appointed administrator of New Zealand Vacuum Cleaner Company Ltd, which is part of the Australian-owned Godfreys Group and operates the group’s retail stores, said there was no intention of closing the southern stores at this stage.
"These will continue to operate as normal during the administration," he said.
Godfreys Group’s Australian entities also entered voluntary administration this week.
The administrators said Godfreys operated 141 stores and employed more than 600 staff across Australia and New Zealand. It also has an additional 28 stores run by franchisees. In New Zealand, there are 16 company-operated and nine franchised stores.
