A PROVISIONAL liquidator has been appointed by the High Court to a company selling the “Ladybird” brand of children’s clothes in eight outlets, employing 65 people.
Copper Alley Clothing Ltd, which operates seven Ladybird retail outlets at major shopping centres, applied for a provisional liquidator after encountering serious trading difficulties in the last year.
The company operates a concession at Arnotts in Dublin and also has outlets at Mahon Point and Wilton in Cork, Blanchardstown and Liffey Valley in Dublin, Whitewater in Newbridge, the Pavilions in Swords, Co Dublin, and the Crescent shopping centre, Limerick. A ninth outlet at Dundrum shopping centre closed in November.
It made profits in all but one of the years since it set up its first outlet at Liffey Valley in 1999, but last year it experienced a 35 per cent fall in turnover, resulting in an operating loss of €673,149 for the first 10 months of last year.
Gary McCarthy, for the directors of Copper Alley, said they had decided to seek a provisional liquidator to ensure it could continue to trade so the maximum value from stock would be obtained. It might also be possible to sell the business as a going concern and save some 65 jobs, counsel said.
The company has about €472,000 in stock, but if this were to be disposed of in a “fire sale”, it would realise only 10 per cent of its value, counsel said.
The court heard the company obtained a licence in 1995 to sell the Ladybird brand from Coats Viyella Clothing, which was later sold to the Woolworths group.
In an affidavit, company director Colm O’Rourke said the entry by Woolworths into administration in December 2008 had a catastrophic effect on the company’s ability to obtain a supply of goods.
The administrator sold the Ladybird brand to Shop Direct, which agreed to suspend further shipments of spring/ summer clothing orders, Mr O’Rourke said.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy agreed to appoint Tom Kavanagh of Kavanagh Fennell as provisional liquidator and made the matter returnable before the court next month.