The dysfunctional f inal days of the Orla Kiely empire
Historical debts discovered, emails ignored, rumours rife and staff fending for themselves
A FORMER staff member in Orla Kiely’s head office has told the Irish Mail on Sunday details of previously unknown turmoil in the weeks leading up to the company’s sudden closure.
The revelations include discovery of debts at the company, and a decision to ignore emails from customers in the weeks leading up to the liquidation. The business ceased trading on September 17, going into voluntary liquidation.
The brand was founded by Ms Kiely and her husband and business partner, Dermott Rowan, in 1995. It was known for its distinctive Seventies floral patterns and was a firm favourite of Kate Middleton’s. But it was also criticised for not moving with times.
Its parent company, London-based Kiely Rowan plc, now owes its creditors around (€11m), according to Quantuma, the business advisory firm which has been managing the administration and liquidation of the company.
It is still seeking a possible buyer for part or all of the company on behalf of the couple who paid themselves a combined salary of £408,000 (€460,000) in 2017.
Despite the considerable size of the debt, neither Ms Kiely nor Mr Rowan were fully aware of the dire straits of their business up until a few weeks prior to its demise, according to a former employee.
According to the source, who worked for the couple in their London head office, there was evidence of problems with management at the company.
Executives in the firm became aware of the debt only after a recent review of the finances.
That review came after one senior employee behaved erratically and made decisions that seemed bizarre to their colleagues. After the issue was discovered, the atmosphere changed. The source said: ‘We were told to ignore emails from wholesalers and customers looking for product.
‘The product simply wasn’t there because they’d stopped paying suppliers. We were left to deal with angry customers but were told to ignore them.
‘I began questioning the professionalism of the company. It went against everything I was trained to do and that decision came from the top, I believe.’
A number of staff had been taken on as recently as June and were told there was ‘a lot of potential to grow within the company’.
The atmosphere was dysfunctional and tense in the days leading up to Monday, September 17, and rumours were rife among staff about the possibility of redundancies but they were left in the dark.
That Monday at 2pm, staff were called in for a meeting with Mr Rowan and Ms Kiely. They were shocked by the announcement.
Mr Rowan led the meeting and told staff that ‘a large amount of debt had been unearthed’ and they had been ‘trying to get investment’ but this had failed.
He was ‘a little shaken while talking’ and Ms Kiely only interjected occasionally to apologise. Mr Rowan made a point of asking staff to be ‘sensitive’ towards the company on social media.
Chartered accountants and HR were on hand to answer questions but they ‘weren’t helpful’. Staff learned that they would not be paid for the previous three weeks’ work and were told they would get letters detailing how they could claim state compensation.
The source said: ‘People have a lot of pity for Orla and Dermott but they should have had more knowledge about what was going on within their own company.
‘I’m so angry. It’s sad that they didn’t have the respect to look after their own staff. Even if they could have let us know at the start of September we could have begun looking into other jobs.
‘I’m renting in London. We’ll all struggle to pay rent and bills until we can get new jobs.’
The source complained that the liquidation had happened in the middle of London Fashion Week, saying: ‘Very few people are recruiting at the moment in this industry because it’s so busy.
‘Most of us, if we’re lucky, will try and borrow from friends and family but I don’t want to do that. It’s embarrassing and upsetting. I’m scared witless. Orla and Dermott have lost their com£10m pany, but at the end of all this, they’ll still be millionaires.’ Ms Kiely and Mr Rowan did not respond to requests for comment.
‘We were left to deal with angry customers’ Staff were asked to be sensitive on social media