The company behind famous retail brands Australian Geographic and the Co-op bookshop has entered voluntary administration owing more than $15 million to toy sellers and publishers.
The administrators, PwC’s Phil Carter, Andrew Scott and Daniel Walley, confirmed they were investigating payments made to a major supplier, controlled by Co-op chief executive Thorsten Wichtendahl, which received more than $500,000 in advance for goods not yet supplied.
Co-op chief executive Thorsten Wichtendahl.Credit: CEO Magazine
Discussions with administrators ramped up after The sydney Morning Herald and The Age last week revealed suppliers to the Co-op bookshop – which owns both the staple university bookstore and Curious Planet, formerly known as Australian Geographic – were owed more than $12 million and “nervous” that six-figures debts overdue by more than 90 days would go unpaid.
Co-op bookshop chairman Joe Merhi said weak sales left the board with no choice but to appoint an administrator late on Sunday night.
“The combination of weak retail trading figures coming up to Christmas and the collapse of ‘over the counter text book’ sales by over 40 per cent from last year, has left the board with no alternative but to appoint a voluntary…
