Home > Industry > Distributors > EXCLUSIVE: E3 Style Boss Forms New Company After $250K Claim By Powermove + Court Action With Crest

EXCLUSIVE: E3 Style Boss Forms New Company After $250K Claim By Powermove + Court Action With Crest

Brisbane based Vanessa Garrard founded E3 Style in 2006, she called in the administrators in 2016, now the former CEO, who is currently in a major legal battle with Brisbane based distributor The Crest Company, is trying to kick start a new business called SourceHub.

She claims that this Company was formed because of the damage caused by ChannelNews exposing her actions against the Crest Company and the fact that she was being sued by Adelaide based Powermove, a Company who she claims that she has an option to “sue for $2M dollars” following a failed business deal.

Initially she said that she already had a $2M claim against Powermove, she then changed her story to it being an “option” open to E3 Style.

She has also posted a new web site www.vanessagarrard.com in an effort to plug herself to potential partners.

Garrard told ChannelNews that the new Company that was registered in August 2016 four months after E3 was placed into voluntary administration was set up on the advice of the administrators to E3 Style Domenic Calabretta from Mackay Goodwin.

She said that another reason for placing E3Style into voluntary administration was to avoid a $250,000 legal action taken against the Company by Crawford Giles, the CEO of Powermove.

During the interview with ChannelNews Garrard initially denied that she had any other shareholders in E3 Style, she then changed her story to say that Powermove held a 50% shareholding in the Company.

She also kept referring to “when I get the money from my Crest Win” during the interview.

When it was pointed out that the case of E3Style Vs The Crest Company had not been heard yet she said that there was overwhelming evidence that would result in her winning the case.

She claimed that a Crest employee Michael Tomkins who at one stage had worked for E3Style had stolen 16 hard drives and that information gleaned from these hard drives had damaged the business activities of E3 Style.

She accused The Crest Company of “Stealing” the hard drives a claim that has been denied by Crest.

When asked whether she had done to the police to investigate the “theft” she said no.

She said that in the upcoming case which she claims has cost her personally millions of dollars to fight that investigations by forensic investigators would reveal evidence that would be damaging to The Crest Company who she claims will be “bankrupt” if she wins.

She said that E3 Style was currently holding a security over The Crest Company in the event of her winning the case against the Brisbane based distributor who is also holding security over a loss by E3 Style.

She said that her new Company SourceHub is a “Business to consumer” Company not a B to B Company.

Prior to E3 being placed into administration in 2016 leading consumer electronics distributor Powermove sued E3 Style claiming that they were owed $285,000 which was as deposit on a shipment of goods destine for major retailer.

The Powermove case, which related to the way E3 Style, funded shipments of goods, was set to be heard in the Brisbane Supreme Court later this year, a loss here and the potential of more than a million dollars in legal fees if Garrard loses her case with Crest could see Garrard and E3 facing millions in payouts, without any assurances that Garrard or E3 Style has the funding or the capacity to continue running any Companies.

Late in 2015 E3 Style was struggling to fund shipments without major deposits like the one that Powermove funded.

At the time, she told ChannelNews that she had sold 50% of her business to Powermove who she later claimed had moved to mount a “hostile takeover.

During today’s interview, she initially denied that E3 Style had any other shareholders.

Garrard has not said who is funding her new business she did claim that she is funding the legal action against Crest “Personally”.
She claims that former employee Michael Tomkins took confidential information found on the hard drives and relating to deals that E3 were doing with Officeworks when he quit to join Crest.

It’s also been alleged that information relation to two secret Officeworks initiatives, called Pallet Project and Camera Project were compromised.

It now appears that Garrard the former PA to Dirk Olberitz a director at The Crest Company, who went on to work in Crest’s call centre and then their sales operation before quitting to set to E3 Style with two other partners registered her SourceHub, Company four months after E3 Style was placed into administration, in an effort to preserve the Company from claims. The Company is still trading after being bought out from Voluntary Administration.

The holding Company for SourceHub is Solidfy Pty Ltd.

Garrard has told several retailers and prospective partners some who she has asked to sign none disclosure agreements with, that she has already won part of her case against Crest, despite the case having not been heard yet in the Queensland Supreme Court.
She told one potential partner that “When she is cashed up from her Crest win she will invest in their business”.

One of the products being marketed by her new Company is Jingu a children’s karaoke entertainment system that SourceHub claims is a fully portable, all-in-one multi media centre that you can use anywhere at any time.

ChannelNews understands that SourceHub is looking for Kickstarter capital via Indiegogo.com, Garrard denies this claiming that the reason that the product is up on Indiegogo is” to test consumer reaction to the product”.

A visit to the Sourcehub.com.au web site reveals a splash banner for the new product with links to Indiegogo.com.

The new SourceHub site also states that ‘Vanessa Garrard founded her consumer products group of companies in 2006, with the key focus on developing unique design-led products in consumer electronics and stationery segments. Currently, 1 in 2 Australians own a product that Vanessa’s company has produced, a group which has grown its global footprint with offices in Brisbane, China, and the US’.

There is now mention of the fact that E3 Style run by Garrard which is also at the same registered address as SourceHub was placed into administration last year.

Garrard has also invested in a new personal web site to rebuild her “Entrepreneurial” reputation which several people who have had falling outs with Garrard say is questionable.



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