Harris Scarfe goes bust

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More retail carnage:

Harris Scarfe has been placed into receivership with Vaughan Strawbridge, Kathryn Evans and Tim Norman of Deloitte Restructuring Services appointed voluntary administrators on Wednesday.

Operating nationally, but best known in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, Harris Scarfe retails bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances, and apparel across 66 stores. The business employs over 1,800 staff, and has annual sales totalling $380 million.

Strawbridge said trading will continue as normal over the Christmas period and employees will continue to be paid by the receivers. He is confident there is more than sufficient assets to meet all employees’ entitlements. The receivers intend to achieve a sale of the business as a going concern and preserve the employment of as many people as possible.

But why would anybody buy it?

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.