Discount retailer Miniso Australian master franchisee collapses into voluntary administration
The Australian master franchisee for multinational discount retailer Miniso has collapsed into voluntary administration amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched in Australia back in 2017, Miniso is headquartered in Guangzhou, China,
It is understood the company suffered from a lockdown decline in foot traffic, and it did not have a very strong e-commerce strategy.
Miniso’s local landlords, including ASX-listed centre owners Scentre Group, GPT Group, Vicinity Centres and Stockland, are not receiving rent payments during the pandemic.
Other creditors, including ANZ Bank, the Australian Taxation Office and parent company Tabata Holdings, are owed more than $6 million combined, with the China-based parent the largest creditor.
Earlier this month an application was granted to the joint and several voluntary administrators of Miniso Master Franchisee Pty Ltd to extend the convening period for its next creditors meeting for a period of six weeks up to and including 21 September 2020.
The first meeting of creditors was held on 23 July 2020.
Miniso operates a hybrid ownership model of business whereby the stores operate through franchisee agreements, joint venture arrangements and stores wholly owned by the Miniso corporate group.
The company purchases and holds stock on behalf of the entities within the Miniso group. The administrators identified 12 group owned stores, 13 franchises, six joint ventures and one wholesale store within the group.
The administrators have, amongst other things, undertaken to continue to trade in order to conserve its value for a potential sale and/or recapitalisation.
The known unsecured creditors of the company, including the landlords, are owed approximately $24.3 million and the secured creditors of the company are owed approximately $132,431.A stocktake showed a stock value of $3.8 million.
Miniso Master Franchisee Pty Ltd, the main revenue generating entity associated with its business in Australia, appointed Grant Thornton as administrators in July.
Miniso has 32 trading stores in Australia, however they are not all in administration.
“The company entered into voluntary administration generally due to the difficult trading conditions as a result of COVID and consumer trading habits being restrained,” Grant Thornton administrator Philip Campbell-Wilson said in a statement.