Laura Ashley: the shocking reason behind its collapse

The crisis which led to the collapse of Laura Ashley Australia has been revealed.

In minutes from the first meeting of creditors, obtained by Ragtrader, director Daryl Chait outlined the “perfect storm” leading up the appointment of voluntary administrators on January 7.

The core issues developed in 2013, when the retailer was forced to replace a 35-year-old unsupported IT system.

“We chose Microsoft Dynamics XP,” Chait told creditors.

“Unfortunately, the implementation didn’t go according to plan and we had major warehouse issues with stock moving to stores and also the ordering system didn’t quite work to plan.”

Administrators also expressed difficulty in extracting trading information from the operating system.

Store refurbishment costs, margin erosion due to insufficient hedging and increased competition from international retailers were also cited as reasons behind the company’s collapse.

This exclusive story first appeared in the March edition of Ragtrader. To subscribe and access all the biggest industry exclusives, head here.