Clive Peeters' creditors to meet this week

Receivers for consumer electronics and appliance retailer Clive Peeters are meeting with suppliers ahead of the first creditors’ meeting, which is expected to be held this Friday (May 28).

A spokesperson for corporate advisory firm PPB Ben Jarvis told PIN Online this morning that a “lot of work” was being done with suppliers and an update would soon be provided by receivers Phil Carter and Daniel Bryant.

Clive Peeters’ primary imaging suppliers are: digital still cameras - Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Olympus and BenQ; digital video cameras – JVC, Sony and Panasonic. 

PPB, which was appointed by Clive Peeters, said the chain would continue to trade on a "business as usual" basis as it commenced a formal sale process.

Following a spate of complaints by customers who had paid for products they had not received, PPB announced on Friday that anyone who had paid any money to Clive Peeters would receive their products.

"Following an urgent review of the business and discussions with key stakeholders, we are pleased to inform customers that deposits and gift certificates will be honoured at all Clive Peeters stores,” Carter said in a statement.

Gift certificates ‘honoured’ with a sting
However, Jarvis told PIN Online that gift certificates would only be honoured if customers spent four times the value of the gift certificate.

“Normally in situations like this, the gift certificates would be null and void but, with the cooperation of the bank (NAB), it’s been decided to honour them if customers spend four times the value of the certificate,” he said.

“As the majority of certificates are for $50, this means customers need to spend an additional $200 to redeem them.”

PPB also announced that it is commencing a formal sale process and a number of parties have already expressed interest in acquiring the business as a going concern.

Carter said they were encouraged by the level of initial interest in Clive Peeters and "we’re hopeful we can provide further certainty to all stakeholders by way of a successful sale of the business".

Carter said PPB was "stabilising the business operations", with all 1300 staff remaining in employment across the network of 45 stores and three warehouses.

"We will be trading on a business-as-usual basis as far as possible in the circumstances."

Clive Peeters went into receivership last Wednesday after plunging sales and crippling debt of $140 million forced the board to pull the plug and hand the responsibility to its voluntary administrators.

Clive Peeters was also hit by the well-publicised misappropriation of more than $19 million in cash in 2009 by a former senior accountant.

Company $160m in debt

Clive Peeters' first-half accounts show it was shouldering $160 million in debt, including $38 million owed to NAB, and only about $10m in cash.

As at December last year, the company owed $113 million to trade creditors.Its short-term debt facilities with NAB were due to mature on July 31 and on May 4 the retailer said it was in negotiations over a renewal of the facilities and an increase in its short-term overdraft.

The company, which went public in a $120 million float in 2005, is now estimated to be worth around $19 million.