Boutique stationery company a victim of lockdowns.

 

Fashion stationery retailer kikki.K has gone into voluntary administration for the second time in 17 months. 

 

The Swedish-inspired company, which was founded 20 years ago, first went into voluntary administration in March 2020, owing $20 million.

 

It was then saved from collapse after a US-based lifestyle products company, Erin Condren Designs, took control last August.

 

In a statement to staff, kikki.K co-founders Kristina Karlsson and Paul Lacy said the company's collapse was a direct result of the current lockdowns in NSW, Victoria and the ACT

 

"Today is a sad day. Writing this note together is a sad task and we still can't quite believe it's happening - again," they said.

kikki.K has 36 stores in Australia and New Zealand, about half are closed under stay-at-home orders and many of its 300 staff members have been stood down. 

 

The Australian Financial Review reported that the company will continue to trade while administrators assess options for the business.

 

The founders added that with no certainty on when the lockdowns would end, the risk was too great for them to continue to fund the business, as it relied heavily on retail sales of diaries, calendars, planners, notebooks, cards and wrapping paper.

 

“To be clear, this result has been a direct consequence of the pandemic and the unprecedented, devastating financial consequences of past and current store lockdowns, and the prospect and risk of extended closures with no clear end in sight,” they said.

 

While some staff were already stood down after retail store closures due to lockdowns, the business would continue to trade online and in its sites across Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Singapore.