Upmarket furniture chain Living Edge has been placed in receivership by its lender National Australia Bank and will now be put up for sale.
The company, which has showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide, was put in the hands of receivers Keith Crawford and Matthew Caddy of McGrathNicol on Monday.
“Our objective is to work constructively with Living Edge stakeholders to stabilise and prepare the business for sale,” Crawford said in a brief statement released last night.
“In the meantime, Living Edge will continue trading and looks forward to continuing support from employees, customers and suppliers.”
The level of debt inside the company is not yet known, although reports have suggested the business took out a $7 million loan last November.
The company, which stocks upmarket furniture brands such as Eames, Herman Miller and Emco, was established 12 years ago and employs around 75 staff.
As well as selling to retail customers through its showrooms, Living Edge offered services to commercial clients including planning, CAD design, product procurement, delivery and installation services.
The fate of orders commercial and retail customers may have placed with the chain in recent weeks remains unclear.
The collapse of the company comes as online retailers selling replica designer furniture, including Milan Direct and Matt Blatt, have gained popularity and prominence.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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