Darrell Lea administrators say 32 company-owned stores will cease trading from today and 34 Darrell Lea-branded stores will stay open.
The result is that 167 casual employees, 16 part-time employees and 15 full-time employees will be made redundant.
Mark Robinson of PPB Advisory said that while it was an unfortunate development, the objective was to make Darrell Lea more attractive to potential purchasers and help protect the interests of the remaining 480 employees.
He said there would be no changes to manufacturing, warehousing and head office operations which would continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis.
“These developments are in line with restructuring initiatives that Darrell Lea was considering before PPB Advisory’s appointment,’’ Mr Robinson said.
‘‘PPB Advisory is engaging with potential purchasers and we have received a number of indicative offers. We are advancing some parties to the next stage of the sales process.”
PPB Advisory will work closely with affected staff and their representatives regarding employee entitlements.
More details are available to creditors and employees under the creditors information section of PPB Advisory’s website at www.ppbadvisory.com.
The Darrell Lea store at Westfield Miranda is among stores closing.
Employees, customers and suppliers with any questions are invited to contact PPB Advisory’s hotline on 02 8280 7660 or at dlea@linkmarketservices.com.au
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