Fashion chain Max to close 17 outlets

The owner of women’s fashion brand Max is planning to close 17 stores after having virtually no revenue during the Covid lockdown.

Max Fashions currently has more than 40 outlets in New Zealand. It won’t say how many staff will lose their jobs as a result.

The clothing chain, owned by Chris Grieve, Gary Hitchcock and James Whiting, is restructuring and is seeking a creditor’s compromise so it can keep trading. The company has not paid rent since the end of March.

Max said that separate negotiations with landlords failed and offers varied widely. “Most only dealt with the immediate lockdown period and not with the potential economic consequences of the unemployment and GDP impact to

Max Fashions

come. Some landlords were unwilling to provide any concessions at all.”

The company is requesting a compromise where if enough landlords agree to discount rent any others will be forced to do so as well, so that Max will not have to go into receivership or liquidation.

“If the landlords approve the proposed formal creditor’s compromise, we are confident that we can continue on the exciting journey of rebuilding this iconic brand,” managing director Jamie Whiting said.

In the proposal documents, Max said that despite the wage subsidy, it had incurred “considerable losses” due to costs that could not be avoided during the lockdown. Ministry of Social Development data shows the company received $1.7 million for 284 staff.

The documents say Max will end 17 leases by the end of next month.

Some landlords were unwilling to provide any concessions.