Digidirect Owner Acquires Booktopia
Australia’s largest online bookseller Booktopia hit rock bottom in July as it entered voluntary administration.
The company appointed Keith Crawford, Matthew Caddy and Damien Pasfield from McGrathNicol to oversee either a sale of the business or a recapitalisation of it.
Now, Shant Kradjian, the owner of camera store Digidirect, has acquired the bookseller.
“Booktopia has been a key part of Australia’s publishing industry for 20 years, and transitioning the business to such a well-known Australian retailer is a great outcome for all stakeholders,” said Crawford.
The acquisition will halt the massive workforce cuts that were being implemented at the company and even lead to hiring of additional employees. “The transaction will result in the retention of all remaining employees, the recruitment of some 100 additional employees and continuity of supply for Booktopia’s trade creditors,” added Crawford.
Kradjian founded Digidirect in 2006 as a camera and imaging specialist retailer. It expanded to become one of Australia’s biggest consumer electronic stores retailing smartphones, computers, and related accessories too.
Digidirect and Booktopia will remain separate entities.
Booktopia was founded in Sydney in 2004. It posted record profits during the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2021 even overtook Amazon in Australian market share for the book sector.
However, a robotic warehouse in Sydney, which although having fulfilled 1.8 million orders in the 12 months to when it entered into administration, drained the company’s budgets. As funds dried up, customers were left with unfilled orders.
Kradjian is believed to be ready to pour millions to revive the business. “The Booktopia infrastructure and systems are very good, and we believe that with some investment and the right team and strategy, we’re well-placed for growth,” he said, according to the Australian Financial Review.
“Booktopia is also a wholesale distributor for publishers, exclusively stocking and moving titles from many authors. This is a business that benefits both publishers and Booktopia, and maintaining and building that business is a high priority for us.”