Cookie Man runs franchise ads despite liquidation

Cookie Man is continuing to advertise franchisee positions, despite the company being placed in liquidation following a winding up order.

The cookie retailer is advertising three franchise positions in NSW and a further six franchises in South Australia, despite being put up for sale. There is no mention of the liquidation on the Cookie Man website.

In response to questions from the Australian Securities Exchange about the appointment of a liquidator after a winding up order lodged by a creditor, Allied Brands, which owns the Cookie Man Brand, blamed an “administration oversight”.

Allied Brands also stated that Cookie Man’s turnover and profit was less than 10% of the group’s total, adding that its suspension from the stock market will continue, as the company had “still not resolved issues with its financiers.”

However, sources suggest that suppliers have stopped supplying franchisees with the goods needed for the running of stores, with claims that the credit problems run beyond Cookie Man. Allied Brands’ other franchised companies include Baskin Robbins, Villa and Hut and Awesome Water.

Cookie Man has around 50 outlets, 46 of which are franchised and four company-owned. Two franchises are set to close in the coming months, although the Cookie Man website claims that the company is “embarking on a growth program”, with nine opportunities listed for would-be franchisees.

Neither Allied Brands nor Peter Hillig, the administrator of Cookie Man, returned calls on the issue at the time of publication.