Allphones deal keeps 50 stores open … TK Maxx gets ready to launch … Government insists tax cut plan still a winner

By Dominic Powell and Emma Koehn 

Allphones to close 34 stores, 50 to stay open

Some good news has arrived for mobile phone retailer Allphones after its collapse in February, with the company’s creditors voting in favour of six Deeds of Company Arrangement (DOCAs) on Wednesday, covering eight out of nine companies that had entered voluntary administration.

Fifty of the 84 Allphones stores will remain open, and approximately two-thirds of the company’s 446 staff will retain their jobs. The DOCAs also enable entitlements to be paid to all staff.

Philip Carter of PPB Advisory, the company’s administrator, said in a statement the agreement would not have been possible without the support and $2.2 million in funding from Allphones’ major shareholder, Skidmore Retail Group.

“The approval of the DOCAs is a result of all parties collaborating to achieve the best outcome for creditors, including store operators and employees,” Carter said.

Government insists full tax package still a winner

The government might not have secured the entirety of its 10 Year Enterprise Tax Plan before the May 9 federal budget, but the Prime Minister and Treasurer continue to champion the case for extending the planned drop in the corporate tax to 25% for all Australian businesses.

This week Treasurer Scott Morrison urged the big end of town to do more to communicate the value of the tax cuts to the community, saying “business, particularly large business, has a critical role to play” in convincing the electorate on this issue, reports The New Daily. 

In a speech to The Sydney Institute on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government would “not stop here” on tax reform, insisting lower taxes were key to encouraging foreign investment in Australia.

Turnbull said the country could not secure growth “if our tax rates are considerably higher than those in other countries, especially when our competitors around the world are looking to cut their rates further”, reports The Guardian. 

TK Maxx ready to launch

Global retailer TK Maxx will open its first stores in Melbourne in two weeks, reports the Herald Sun, with six stores launching in Broadmeadows, Frankston, Dandenong, Fountain Gate and Docklands.

This is just a small portion of the 35 stores the retailer said it would launch when it announced its arrival in early March. The majority of these stores will be converted Trade Secret stores, which the retailer’s parent company purchased in 2015 for $80 million.

At the time, retail expert Gary Mortimer told SmartCompany the retailer’s arrival heralded “another nail in the coffin for David Jones and Myer”.

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