Liquidation of unique Whangarei store Classics Games, Books & Puzzles may soon do what a serious fire failed to seven years ago - bring down the business.
Owner Deborah Ryder has put Classics into voluntary liquidation and is now living in Wellington.
The collapse comes just 25 months after Ms Ryder bought the store from founder Calvin Green.
The liquidation became effective last Tuesday morning, but the business is still trading - unlike nearby Salut Bar & Brasserie, which went into voluntary liquidation three weeks ago.
Liquidator Steve Bennett decided to allow Classics to continue trading for a few weeks. This is an option available to liquidators where a business still has potential despite the debts which have led to liquidation.
Mr Bennett said this was not the norm, with most liquidations resulting in instant freezing of the operation.
"In this case we decided to allow the business to trade on because it is likely to lead to a better outcome for creditors than closing the doors and debts are relatively modest," he said.
He hoped to sell Classics as a going concern and said there were already two or three interested parties. The sale is in the hands of a Whangarei real estate company. The continued operation had a limited time-frame and would be resolved one way or another by mid-year, he said.
"Classics is a great business and I believe this strategy is in the best interests of creditors. If that turns out not to be the case we will move quite quickly to consider all other options to get the best financial outcome possible for the creditors, as liquidators are legally obliged to do."
Founder and former owner Mr Green has played a leading role in the Whangarei retail and business scene, and created 15 companies over the years for retail, export/import and distribution activities. Currently manager of the Northland Business Development Trust, he started and still owns the successful Campus Books on NorthTec's Raumanga campus, and now co-owns well-known Whangarei store Storytime with his wife Annemarie Florian, manager of the business.
Storytime, which supplies quality children's books, toys, educational games and puzzles, was started by a co-operative of women interested in the education of children, including Ms Florian. Sourcing stock for Storytime at international trade fairs revealed a wealth of quality games, books and puzzles for adults as well as children, and in 1991 Mr Green developed successful importing business The Green Company as a specialist supplier of these items for stores nationwide, including Storytime and later, Classics. The company was sold to South Island interests in 1998 and still has a national presence.
Classics began as an experimental annex at the back of Storytime when the store was in Rathbone St and was so successful it evolved into a business in its own right in 2000. The 2005 fire resulted in complete loss of stock. Smoke-damaged stock had to be sold in a fire sale.
Classics started from scratch again at that point and continued trading successfully, despite the economic downturn, before being sold to Ms Ryder in 2010.
Courses moveNorthtec has relocated its hairdressing and beauty therapy courses from Robert St in the Whangarei CBD to its newly-redeveloped arts centre on the Raumanga campus, following the expiry of the lease. Communications manager Ross McCullough said NorthTec had originally felt the courses were suited to a central city location but had decided the new state-of-the-art arts centre was a better option. The centre will be officially opened later this year. The Robert St premises are vacant.