Kleenmaid customers and franchisees unlikely to see return

Creditors of collapsed kitchen and laundry manufacturer Kleenmaid have been told that there is little prospect they will receive any return from the collapsed company.

More than 150 attended yesterday’s first creditors meeting in Brisbane.

Many of these were among the 4500 former customers owed $27 million for goods that have been partly or fully paid for.

While many of these customers believed their goods were locked in warehouses around the country, receiver John Greig from accounting firm Deloitte told the creditors that just $2.9 million worth of goods is actually in the country. The owner of the warehouses holding these goods is refusing to release them as it is also owed $2.1 million by Kleenmaid.

Greig has also revealed that while Kleenmaid kept selling goods right up until it was placed in voluntary administration on 9 April, shipments from some overseas suppliers had been cut off as early as November 2008.

“The last shipment from most of the suppliers was around December [or] January, February at the latest,” Greig told the meeting.

Kleenmaid director Andrew Young did not appear at the meeting, but made a bid to be elected to a committee overseeing Kleenmaid subsidiary Orchard KM, which is also in administration. This bid was rejected by creditors.

Young is still expected to present creditors with a deed of company arrangement that could result in the company being resurrected.

But given the company’s parlous financial position, the damage to its brand and reputation and the angry mood of creditors, there is no guarantee this deed will be approved.

A second creditors meeting will be held in May.

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