Millions of dollars’ worth of Dick Smith stock that failed to sell despite heavily marketed closing down sales, is set to be dumped onto eBay and online discount stores as the receivers at the failed retailer get set to lock up shop for the last time.
Ferrier Hodgeson who are set to pocket millions out of the retailer’s collapse, failed to find a buyer for Dick Smith which collapsed owing creditors and the banks over $520 million. A great deal of the stock set to be dumped is overpriced house brand products.
The receivers have refused to release the full creditors list which is set to be revealed at a Senate inquiry into the collapse of the retailer.
Yesterday Ferrier Hodgson announced that 35 Australian stores will close by April 16 with the outstanding 266 outlets shut by May.
More than 3,000 people were employed at the mass retailer who insiders say was buying stock at “ridiculous” prices so much so that a 20% discount in the closing down sale meant that they still could not match the sell price for the same products at JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman.
Ferrier Hodgson said employees would be given their notice of termination only when the “exact date of their store closure is known.”
The problem for many Dick Smith staff who are angry over the way that Ferrier Hodgson has handled the sale off the business is that staff who leave before they receive their redundancy notice forfeit their right to a redundancy payment.
One store manager said “This makes it hard to look for a job. This is a case of the receivers and banks looking after their interests and not the existing staff who have been offered jobs but face losing redundancy payments. Things are hard enough at the moment for a lot of staff who now face hitting the market at the same time”.
According to Fairfax Media some Dick Smith staff expressed their anger by posting signs in store saying they didn’t know when the business was closing and others asking customers for leads on new jobs.
