Valleygirl’s Australian suppliers cease trade
The administrators of clothing chain Valleygirl and its sister brand Temt says two of its key suppliers have ceased trading.
Stewart Free and Andrew Spring of Australian-based Jirsch Sutherland were appointed administrators of Valleygirl New Zealand last Friday.
There are about 40 stores in total across the country.
A Temt store in Lower Hutt, which seemed under-stocked last week, confirmed its doors were still open.
Free said the New Zealand operation had suffered from a downturn in trade and problems securing stock, leading to difficulties maintaining creditors’ payments, notably to landlords.
‘‘We are currently investigating the best options for preserving the business operations, which include investigating a potential sale of the business, and by virtue trying to ensure that employees are best looked after.’’
It is not clear whether staff have yet been paid outstanding wages.
Free and Spring are also overseeing the voluntary liquidation of two Australian retail and supply companies, MHN Trading and Hanama Collection, which traded as Paper Scissors and Chicabooti, and which have ceased to trade. Temt stocked both labels.
One Valleygirl staff member, who asked not to be named, said last week that staff had raised concerns with management about emptying shelves. She said they were told it was due to problems with the Chinese distributor.
Court records from a previous trademark case show that Valleygirl NZ’s owner is Hyuk Sang Ma, otherwise known as Michael Ma.
His uncle, Jim Marr, founded Valleygirl in Australia. Both men got into retail in Australia in the early 1990s after emigrating from Korea.
Michael Ma opened his first store in New Zealand in 2006 under the Valleygirl name and later renamed his Australian stores Paper Scissors and Chicabooti.
The Australian Valleygirl business is not believed to be involved in the New Zealand company’s troubles.