The parent company of collapsed Australian retailer Jeanswest owes more than $48 million to creditors, according to ASIC filings obtained by Ragtrader.
The Australian owner, Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd, called in the administrators in late March this year, appointing Lindsay Bainbridge, Andrew Yeo and David Vasudevan of Pitcher Partners Melbourne.
The latest report tabled to ASIC by the administrators shows that Harbour Guidance owes $48.5 million to creditors. Of this, $25.68 million is owed to secured creditors, including $25,388,541.64 to its parent company Harbour Guide Ltd – a Hong Kong company owned by Chun Fan Yeung and his family interests.
Meanwhile, $19,988,825 is owed to Champion Glory Limited, a Hong Kong clothing exporter. While it is a related party, documents indicate this is not a secured creditor.
Other key debts include $775,834.16 in gift card liability – in other words, how many unused gift cards customers have yet to spend.
Jeanswest’s parent company also owes $4.09 million in wages and other benefits to around 280 employees. This includes redundancy owed to most and long service leave to around half of the employees, as well as annual leave entitlements.
Some of the employees, according to the documents, have been working with the company since the 1990s. Most of the 280 employees owed are expected to be mostly store staff across the Jeanswest retail portfolio.
Around $105,000 is owed to one related party employee.
Harbour Guidance is also owed around $1.1 million across five debtors, including $1.06 million from Jeanswest Corporation (New Zealand) Limited.
The documents also show that Harbour Guidance had a total estimated asset value of $13,741,722.23, which predominantly included inventory across the store network and nearly $1 million in inventory in transit from China, as well as store fixtures and fittings across its 87-store network across Australia. The brand also had three stores in New Zealand, which are now closed.
Following their appointment in late March, administrators launched an inventory reduction campaign, striving to sell off more than $20 million worth of goods, including 138,000 pairs of jeans and thousands of new season stock. It is believed this has now wrapped up, with administrators recently noting that sales should end on May 20.
The administrators have also called for buyers to submit expressions of interest to acquire the brand’s intellectual property. Submissions have now closed.
The administrators recently noted that the directors of Harbour Guidance have indicated their intention to propose a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA), which would allow the company to restructure its debts and potentially continue operating in some form.
However, this is contingent on the successful completion of both the inventory and IP sales.
"The directors of Harbour Guidance are committed to exploring all options for the future of the Jeanswest brand, including a potential DOCA,” Bainbridge said.
“The successful sale of the intellectual property will be a key factor in determining the viability of a DOCA and the potential for the brand to continue operating in some form."
An extension of the convening period ahead of the second creditors’ meeting has been granted until June 30, 2025.