The Australian arm of global footwear giant Steve Madden is no more.
STEVE MADDEN IS no more. Administrators for the collapsed shoe chain, which operated 35 stores nationally and boasted an annual turnover of $17 million, were forced to wind up the company after no interested parties proceeded beyond the due diligence process.
Ferrier Hodgson was voluntarily appointed by Steve Madden director Tony Pistikakis in July, when a lack of working capital and consumer sentiment crippled the business. Managing director Nicholas Pistikakis also resigned from his position due to poor health.
Administrators had initially fielded 43 expressions of interest following a targeted marketing campaign in the Australian Financial Review newspaper on July 21 and July 23. However, by the closing date of August 3, only one party had submitted an indicative offer and withdrew after three days of conducting due diligence.
According to a final report to creditors, Steve Madden Australia owed ANZ bank $8 million when the administrators were appointed and its accounts with the bank were overdrawn. It was estimated unsecured creditors were owed $2.1 million while employee benefits totalled $562,086.
The number of Steve Madden stores across Australia had doubled since 2007, part of a broader strategy by Nicholas Pistikakis to grow market presence and store numbers. According to administrators, trading revenue had fallen substantially at its DFO outlet stores and stand-alone sites in the 11 months leading up to their appointment.
“As the business was trading at a substantial loss and given the absence of a commercially viable offer for the business and assets, a decision was taken to realise the assets available via an orderly wind-down of the group’s operations,” the report stated, estimating stock at a book value of $3.4 million at July 16.
In addition to retailing Steve Madden (New York) products nationally, the group also produced generic footwear for large discount chains in New Zealand and discount department store Kmart in Australia.
The group sourced and marketed goods across the women’s, men’s and children’s category through retail sites, outlet stores, online and concessions at major department stores.