SYDNEY: Australian Swimwear Company (ASC) is confident it will survive its descent into administration.
As reported on www.ragtrader.com.au, ASC director Steve Philpott appointed financial firm BDO as receiver and manager of the company earlier this month.
He said ASC will continue to trade through the period, with full spring/summer deliveries of its Bond-Eye swimwear line scheduled to go ahead in July. The brand is stocked in independent retailers and Myer department stores nationwide.
Philpott declined to elaborate on the reason for BDO’s appointment.
“It’s just about doing the right thing and being a responsible director,” he said. “I can’t say anything more until I get the go-ahead from the receivers.”
However, Philpott revealed a partnership struck between swimwear labels Bond-Eye and Moontide had fallen through late last year.
In April 2009, Ragtrader reported the two brands had integrated under the ASC umbrella. As part of the restructure, ASC planned to expand both labels through export initiatives and new diffusion offers.
“The challenge now is to integrate the Moontide brand fully into the design structure of our business here and produce a range that works for all markets, taking into account the wide variety of tastes globally,” Philpott said at the time.
A spring/summer 2009 distributor list indicates Bond-Eye was represented across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the US, Canada and Europe in the wake of its strategic partnership with Moontide.
Today, the label is distributed through regional channels only. Philpott said he could not comment on the circumstances behind the split.
Philpott remained optimistic on the future of ASC, with strong Bond-Eye orders for the spring/summer 2010 season and a striking campaign featuring Australia’s Next Top Model winner Tahnee Atkinson.
Assia Benmedjdoub