Key assets of the Bondi fashion label Tuchuzy have been sold to Sydney-based property firm Luxe Retail Group for a few hundred thousand dollars.
Joint administrator and dVT Group partner Antony Resnick confirmed the news with Ragtrader, adding that some of the current employees were also transferred over in the sale with the original company directors stepping away.
Prior reports by this publication noted that Tuchuzy had around 13 employees when it entered voluntary administration. Alongside this, the new owners also bought out all the stock, the brand IP and the goodwill.
Resnick is joined by Henry Kwok under dVT as administrators of Tuchuzy.
“As voluntary administrator, we traded to maintain Tuchuzy’s goodwill and try and save jobs for the transfer of the business to the ultimately successful purchaser,” Resnick said.
“We ran an expression of interest campaign. We had a number of people express interest. We then engaged in discussions with the landlord to attempt to sell the business as a going concern from the same premises. That, unfortunately, did not transpire.”
Resnick further confirmed that the original Tuchuzy Bondi Pty Ltd business remains in voluntary administration, which he expects will likely be liquidated in around two weeks time at the next creditors' meeting on May 6.
He said a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) was rejected at the first creditors’ meeting, which was reliant on statutory creditors accepting an amount for a final settlement.
If the original business is liquidated, Resnick said he and his business associate Kwok will continue their investigation as liquidator to learn more about the demise of the business.
“There's still a demand for the Tuchuzy brand, and we were able to sell that successfully. It's been a clean sale, and we run our investigations to see whether there's any money that needs to be clawed back for the benefit of creditors. And that depends on what our investigation will look like.”
Tuchuzy has since shared a statement to its website and across its socials, confirming a new flagship store is "on the way". It added that shoppers can still purchase products at its temporary location at 178 Campbell Parade in Bondi Beach.