A popular Australian sportswear retailer has collapsed after owing $1.7 million to 13,000 Australians, new documents have revealed.
Sportswear brand Stax dissolved in June and went into voluntary administration on July 10, with Brian Sylvia and Michael Hird of Cascap Advisory serving as joint liquidators.
The new documents showed Stax owed $1,713,986 to 12,927 customers, including 11,182 unfilled orders totaling $1,405,723 and 1,745 partially unfilled orders totaling $308,263.
Liquidators will now determine how many customers will receive their orders from those in stock.
“In the next two weeks, the possibility of a positive resolution of this issue will crystallize,” the liquidator’s report says.
Stax has approximately $1.184 million worth of shares remaining, of which $971,942 is owned by third-party logistics company Shiparoo.
Shiparoo currently owes up to $400,000 in royalties and has requested that the shares be withheld until its claim is satisfied.
A separate container with goods worth about $100,000 was paid for, but did not leave the Chinese manufacturer.
Previous filings showed employees owed more than $450,000, including $389,524 in retirement benefits and $63,557 in retirement benefits, with one employee owed $78,562.
NAB is the company’s largest creditor with debt totaling $7,337,467, followed by Bizcap, which owes $1,882,681.
“As a subordinate general security interest, recovery of Bizcap is contingent on any surplus remaining after full repayment of NAB’s debt, which is unlikely,” the report said.
Hitch Advisory, which acted as Stax’s attorney, is the third-largest creditor and owes $14,166 in legal fees.
Founded by Don Robertson and Matilda Murray in 2015, Stax had a turnover of $30 million, employed 140 people and at its peak operated 14 brick-and-mortar stores, including a flagship store in Westfield in Sydney.
Robertson is the sole director and owns 90 percent of the company’s shares, with Murray owning the remaining 10 percent.
In a statement on social media in early July, the founders said they knew customers were “disappointed, frustrated and understandably upset” that orders weren’t being fulfilled.
“I want you to know that we heard you,” their statement said.
“First of all, we sincerely regret this and that we did not reach out sooner.
“Stax was built over a decade with input from an incredible community, and we know so many of our customers have been impacted.”
They said they knew customers who had not received their orders were frustrated and advised them to contact their banks to “ask about available options”.
“I know this does not change the feelings of frustration or disillusionment that many of you feel,” the statement said.
“If you placed an order and didn’t receive it, we understand why you’re upset.”