Godfreys Enters Voluntary Administration

Trying2SaveABuck on 30/01/2024 - 21:08
Last edited 30/01/2024 - 22:21 by 1 other user

Vacuum cleaner retail chain Godfreys enters voluntary administration amid 'challenging' economic conditions

Many of you guys might not care about this, but a had a few friends work there over the years always had good things to say about the work culture overall, so felt it needed its own thread.

Godfreys is sadly going into voluntary administration. It is a sad day when 100s of people are going to lose their jobs due to store closures of an almost 100 year old Aussie retailer. It does feel like another one bites the dust as this is becoming more and more common but Godfreys has probably been around since before any of us where born.

I feel sorry for the workers losing their jobs, I hope they find new employment quickly or get a decent package to retire on.

Aussie retail kind of feels like it's going the way of Aussie manufacturing in someways with more and more businesses biting the dust. It's only the big boys surviving, part of me knows that is how a 'free market works but there are human-beings losing their livelihood from this and to me it is a sad day.

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Comments

  • jv on 30/01/2024 - 21:09
    +109

    That sucks !!!

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 30/01/2024 - 22:12
      +2

      Not sure who down voted you but here is an upvote for the pun

    • Muzeeb on 30/01/2024 - 22:12
      +8

      But only bowling balls.

    • holdenmg on 31/01/2024 - 08:16
      +2

      It totally Hoovers…

    • HeWhoKnows on 31/01/2024 - 08:43
      +30

      persoanlly Im surprised Godfreys lasted this long.
      Should have "died" years ago.

      With every retailer selling vacuum cleaners and heavily discounted as well there is no room from such a specialist retailer

      • mskeggs on 31/01/2024 - 08:55
        +3

        Not like the valuable retail properties like shavershop or king of knives!
        It is crazy to me anybody steps across their doorstep.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 31/01/2024 - 14:17
        +3

        If you stopped and looked at the clientele that still went into these stores you'd see why.

        There's no <30 year olds going into Godfreys.

        • HeWhoKnows on 01/02/2024 - 13:38
          +4

          More like OVER 50s clientelle. And they keep thier vacuum cleaners FOREVER
          So hardly any repeat business under they were "sold" a Bagged vacuum cleaner.

          They also specialise in Hoover vacs which are amongst the worst performers these days

    • Cheap Gamer on 31/01/2024 - 09:13
      +4

      But who will bust dust now that the dust buster is busted?

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 30/01/2024 - 22:12
      +3

      Why its voluntary administration they should get all their entitlements…

      • FimpBARGAIN on 31/01/2024 - 08:44
        +1

        There is the FEG, but that doesn't always pay out all your entitlements and can take a bit of time to come through

      • johnno07 on 31/01/2024 - 12:44
        +1

        While they are first in line in terms of unsecured creditors, all of Godfrey's secured creditors are in front of them.

        • BillyG687 on 31/01/2024 - 15:33
          +2

          "Employees are a special category of unsecured creditor. In a receivership, in certain circumstances, some outstanding employee entitlements are paid before the debt of the secured creditor is repaid."

          From the ASIC website. So they may get paid before secured (and they should be) depending on the circumstance.

          • Assburg on 01/02/2024 - 10:43

            @BillyG687: Yep, s 556 of the Corporations Act.

            Very broadly, court expenses, followed by administration expenses, followed by any restructuring expenses if the administrator and creditors think it viable to continue business, followed by employee wages and super… Then everything else starts to get looked at.

            Fortunately, the act also limits the wages directors and their family members can be paid when a company is being wound up.

            • smalltime0 on 02/02/2024 - 08:57

              @Assburg: Super comes out of the revenue stream/funds while the company is still trading, until PWC actually winds up the business, they will have to keep paying out super.

              • FimpBARGAIN on 04/02/2024 - 10:36
                +1

                @smalltime0: From my experience the administrators tend to hang around until all the money is gone and then there isn't any left.
                I had to apply for FEG a few years ago, it's ok as long as you can wait 4-6weeks. Oh and there is a cap on annual leave so if you've been there many years you would have been better off quitting the week before they filed

  • Pelicannn on 30/01/2024 - 21:15
    +100

    Personally I've never understood how this business lasted this long in the first place? How many vacuums were they actually selling in a storefront these days to turn a profit with the likes of JB, Hardly Normal, TGG etc, not to mention the cost of paying employees and rent on a brick and mortar?

    It is always of course unfortunate for those working there. Hopefully their income / leave entitlements / super is protected.

      • Pelicannn on 30/01/2024 - 21:20
        +34

        Godfreys were only selling vacuums and accessories etc. Most other brands who make them such as Dyson, Bosch, Samsung, Miele etc. don't have their own store to purely sell vacuums.

        • deme on 30/01/2024 - 21:22
          +3

          I didn't realise Godfreys had shopfronts. No wonder they can't make money.

          • Pelicannn on 30/01/2024 - 21:29
            +14

            @deme: Yep… like 141 stores…bewildering they could afford the rent alone on those. Average rent per sqm is currently $1600 per year these days in a Westfield. I'd say an average Godfreys store front is probably close to 60sqm…

            60 x 1600 x 141 = $13.5 mil.

            Thats a shit load of vacuum cleaners to sell

              • Pelicannn on 30/01/2024 - 21:52
                +1

                @plmko: Care to ELI5 for a simpleton such as myself. I just browsed their website and all they have is vacuum cleaners, accessories, steams cleaning, commercial machines etc.

                Doesn't seem like they've got some income coming in from anywhere else.

              • deme on 30/01/2024 - 22:24
                +1

                @plmko: Enlighten us

              • johnno07 on 31/01/2024 - 12:46
                +10

                @plmko: After much thinking I've determined you're talking out of your ass.

            • Doyen on 31/01/2024 - 00:49
              +7

              @Pelicannn: Last public reporting is the 2017 annual report. They had FY2017 sales of $174M and net profit of $5.9M. Their rent for retail, warehouse and head office looks to have been almost $21M so you are likely close.

            • Chandler on 31/01/2024 - 15:58
              +2

              @Pelicannn: I'd say a majority of their storefronts were located in general retail/commercial real estate, and not larger centres like Westfields.

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 30/01/2024 - 21:58
          +3

          and they only generally only recommended\sold shit brands with 200% markup.

    • ihfree on 30/01/2024 - 21:45
      +9

      I remember thinking the same thing about 10 years ago. I did have a look in the store but it was expensive and felt dated.

      • jessbrooks787 on 31/01/2024 - 16:07
        +5

        We walked into one of their stores a few years ago looking for a good cordless stick vac. Walked straight out and went to Harvey Norman next door.

        Stock seemed super old, very few stick vacs, and the place just looked sad.

    • AustriaBargain on 30/01/2024 - 23:50
      +3

      Especially with the Dyson craze, that alone probably halved their potential customer base.

    • lachhelix on 31/01/2024 - 01:29
      +12

      Absolutely agree with this - people can blame whatever they want but I'd argue the business is all over because they're just not running a successful business.

      Who needs a dedicated retail shop front just to buy vacuums??

      • resisting the urge on 31/01/2024 - 09:28
        +5

        or anything, really.

        People absolutely love to use Amazon, eBay, etc. Even if just to buy products that don't last, are untested, badly made, badly packed, barely delivered… as price is king.

        3rd option should be 'Aussie retail is DEAD'

        Literally, along with manufacturing.

        • Chandler on 31/01/2024 - 15:59
          +1

          along with manufacturing

          You take that back!

          • resisting the urge on 01/02/2024 - 12:59

            @Chandler: There are a few bushies still out there in their sheds, sure.

            There remains some green shoots, but the route to success remains outsourcing the majority of production to SE Asia.

            Given we are the best market to do R&D in globally, and have some of the best R&D people too, this is a nothing short of disaster. It shows the extent to which our ability to administrate our economy- from infrastructure to funding, malfunctions.

    • OZKap on 01/02/2024 - 20:31

      Wait, godfreys sells just vacuums?

      That's wild.

  • Mechz on 30/01/2024 - 21:16
    +15

    Better voluntary than owing all their staff back pay and super they might never see.

  • JMosk on 30/01/2024 - 21:20
    +27

    The business hasn't been around for 100 years let alone almost 200…

    Nonetheless I went into a store about a year back cause I needed a replacement part for my vacuum. I paid, they took my details and said they'd call me back when it came in (approx 2 weeks). A month later I walked in and asked if it was in yet and they said they didn't have any record of my order and wouldn't refund me so I had to initiate a chargeback.
    Imho the business didn't seem like it had evolved at all in the last 20 years

    • Pelicannn on 30/01/2024 - 21:23
      +14

      Imho the business didn't seem like it had evolved at all in the last 20 years

      I get the same vibes, it's like the Taxi companies that failed to innovate when Uber came around then wondered what happened. Surely Godfreys saw the writing on the wall when Dyson started stealing the market share years ago that this wasn't far off.

      • Clear on 30/01/2024 - 21:43

        John Godfreys bought the company back in 2018 when it had 220 stores and said robot vacuums are the future. Unfortunately he passed soon after and didn't seem to take his advice as they've always had a poor lineup of robotic vacuums. Something JB and others excel at.

        • smalltime0 on 01/02/2024 - 00:52

          *John Johnston
          While I think robot cleaners are the present/future (I have one myself), I don't think they would work for a business model like Godfrey's.
          Their core business was selling parts and consumables for household vacuums, and specialist cleaning equipment.
          Robot vacuums still have filters that need to be replaced occasionally (depending on usage, maybe once a year), but those are cheap and easy to buy in bulk online.

    • pjetson on 30/01/2024 - 21:56
      +1

      The business hasn't been around for 100 years let alone almost 200

      From Wikipedia:

      Godfrey Cohen started the business in 1931 after buying 30 vacuum cleaners from auctions in the newspaper and putting them up for sale in his family's furniture store at a time when vacuum cleaners were typically only sold by door-to-door salesmen.

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 30/01/2024 - 22:11

      Thanks i meant 100 i corrected the post

  • ginormousgiraffe on 30/01/2024 - 21:30
    +6

    This business hit their best before in 2005. There are lots of Australian businesses that are thriving, but those are not dinosaurs.

  • H3R34TH4C0MM3NTS on 30/01/2024 - 21:45
    +26

    I went in a Godfrey's and asked why they didn't sell any Dyson Vacuum Cleaners. The Sales guy told me that Dyson's were no good and it was all Marketing and the vacuums they stocked and were pushing for were much better. Maybe that's true but when you cut out a major popular brand in your niche and don't give customers a choice for philosophical reasons then the writing is on the wall. Need to follow the market or die.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 30/01/2024 - 22:00
      +11

      Let me guess, they recommended Wertheim? Exclusive substandard product with huge markup.

      These guys were living in the 90s. Surprised they survived until now.

      • airzone on 31/01/2024 - 22:58

        Yeah we bought one in the early 2000's after going in for a Dyson.

      • SydStrand on 01/02/2024 - 00:35
        +1

        B-b-but it lifted the bowling ball!

      • smalltime0 on 01/02/2024 - 00:55

        but-but Wertheims have a 50 minute runtime across two battery packs.
        How can Dysons compete?!

  • Drakesy on 30/01/2024 - 21:47
    +10

    Surpised they lasted this long tbh.

  • zombrex on 30/01/2024 - 21:53
    +1

    Pitty, as they actually sell cheap vacumn cleaners that are much better than the shitty cheap ones you get from kmart.

    • Ghost47 on 30/01/2024 - 22:07
      +5

      Really? I always thought they sold vacuums at a premium compared to other stores.

    • ihfree on 30/01/2024 - 22:36

      No notable deals, afaict.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/godfreys.com.au

      • belongsinforums on 31/01/2024 - 16:04

        One of the first deals I got was a vac from Godfrey's. Rotating head for carpet cleaning

    • Drakesy on 31/01/2024 - 00:08

      NGL their cheap vacuum cleaners were still pretty crap though.
      If they were much better they would've sold more.

      • Chandler on 31/01/2024 - 16:01

        I think zombrex's point was that they were better than Kmart, which isn't exactly high praise, but still…

        • SydStrand on 01/02/2024 - 00:42
          +1

          True. But Kmart sells a bagless Anko for $49. Don't ask me how they can manufacturer and ship a vacuum profitably from China for $49, but somehow they do. Even the cheapest Godfrey's white label is over triple that, and unlikely to be 3x better for the crowd who's in the market for the cheapest vac.

  • elgrande on 30/01/2024 - 21:57
    +1

    Pretty sure the other original family bailed out years ago.. and purchased other investments, i.e. the block arcade.

  • miwahni on 30/01/2024 - 22:35

    Such a shame. I can still remember their old tv advertising jingle - Get ready, get set, go Godfreys!
    I hope they're able to restructure the remaining stores and turn the business around.

    While my vacuum cleaners came from elsewhere, I bought my steam cleaner, and more recently my carpet shampooer, from my local Godfreys store. I hope it's not one of the stores that closes.

    • SydStrand on 01/02/2024 - 00:49

      I hope they're able to restructure the remaining stores and turn the business around.

      While I'd love to be proven wrong, this is an impossibility. Their specialist retail business model is inherently outdated, their competition is too strong, and their clientele is a demographic dead end. Once the boomers stopped buying or started dying, they were dead to rights. It's not like they can pivot to Funko Pops or NFTs.

      • smalltime0 on 01/02/2024 - 00:58

        I think if the crypto craze proved anything, it is that anyone can pivot to NFTs

  • Clear on 30/01/2024 - 22:59
    +1

    Reminds me of The Chasers ad road test

  • Some Human on 30/01/2024 - 23:24

    I never shopped there after the vaccuum cleaner I bought from there went from sucking to just sucking.

  • Gdsamp on 30/01/2024 - 23:31

    Godspeed

  • Veloheads on 30/01/2024 - 23:51
    +4

    I'm curious as to what happens to the warranty of the brands/models that they had distribution rights to like Tineco. Hopefully there'll be some competition parts and refills.

    However, I'm not surprised they are in this situation. When I got my Tineco they threw in a service card but warned smugly that if I ever lost it, I'd be charged. The salesman proudly boasting how he declined many customers who had lost their cards. Have they not heard of systems to keep track of these records digitally? Get with the times.

    • ESEMCE on 31/01/2024 - 08:45

      Classic example of crap service. It seems my opinion of them is justified after all.

  • Kranbone on 31/01/2024 - 02:28

    I'm not surprised, the Auburn superstore had awful sales people.

    The only thing I would miss are the commercials.

  • mrvaluepack on 31/01/2024 - 06:41

    Awww crap. I guess there goes my warranties.

    • Kranbone on 02/02/2024 - 14:08

      what brand did you buy there? if you bought an active brand it can still be warranted by the manufacturer.

  • jam scone on 31/01/2024 - 07:52
    -8

    I worked for Godfrey's owner; he purchased the TLS I managed. He always said Godfrey's has a great profit margin.

    As stated above, Dyson is all hype - which I agree with. It's the same as Tesla - overpriced hype. If people weren't so heavily influenced by marketing and perception, Godfreys would still be doing fine.

    • Sal in SA on 31/01/2024 - 08:20
      +5

      Sure, if you could also wind the clock back 20 years.

      Fail to adapt to the market place - and this is what happens.

    • 0FoxGiven on 31/01/2024 - 08:20
      +2

      I remember when I came to the country nearly a decade ago and saw a store and I thought to myself "WTF?! A brick and mortar store that sells only vacuums? How are they still around?"

      They didn't try branching out into other offerings or trying to be a predominantly online business. They were bound to go bust IMHO

    • Nebargains on 31/01/2024 - 08:54
      +3

      Maybe if the company adapted to what consumers wanted then they would still be in business. Remember when JB HiFi used to sell CDs, cassettes and stereos? They adapted and now look.

      Also hardly think Dyson is all hype, had mine for 6 years, still going strong, works great. Maybe I could have gone with something cheaper and replaced it several times since?

      • airzone on 31/01/2024 - 23:12

        I bought a headunit from JB back when it was a dingy car audio shop. And now you can buy vacuum cleaners there lol.

    • Serapis on 01/02/2024 - 10:05
      +1

      Looks like someone drank the Koolaid

  • ihbh on 31/01/2024 - 08:34
    +4

    It's only the big boys surviving, part of me knows that is how a 'free market works but there are human-beings losing their livelihood from this and to me it is a sad day

    Wrong. It's the relevant businesses that are surviving. Kodak cameras are gone, so is Blockbuster, Borders, etc. They weren't small businesses.

    The human-beings will find a new livelihood from more relevant businesses. Capital providers aren't going to continually provide capital to businesses that don't provide a return so that you don't have a sad day, unfortunately.

  • ESEMCE on 31/01/2024 - 08:43
    +7

    Aussie retail is dying no doubt. But Godfreys is not an example to point and mourn at.

    In my experience Godfreys were bottom feeders anyway (one of the many in Aussie Retail) .
    Terrible service, inflated prices and poor product range (in my experience at one store on 3 separate occasions and opinion).
    Perhaps my opinion is unfounded based on one terrible store, but after the third time, I just wrote them off.
    They were already essentially dead to me, the only feeling I have from this announcement is a sense of Schadenfreude.

    Even if they had good service, which is the only thing that might keep the business model afloat, it's still an outdated business model.
    Selling relatively low end products in a very narrow niche that customers expect to have long service lives (10+ years) with little to no maintenance and minor ongoing consumable costs. I'm amazed that they lasted this long and that the administrators think there is anything redeemable in a packaged sale unless there's some exclusive distribution licences that might hold some value for another retailer.

    • NoisyMiner on 31/01/2024 - 10:01
      +1

      They should’ve just went commercial products only and sell to cleaning contractors or something. I walk past a Godfrey’s in my shopping centre all the time, never went in. I only saw like seniors go in for a chat and a play around with the stick vacuums LOL.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 31/01/2024 - 08:44
    +5

    There will be no more demonstrating vaccum cleaner power with bowling balls then, I’ll tell the children.

  • FimpBARGAIN on 31/01/2024 - 08:49
    +4

    I'm not 100% unbothered by the way you lump bricks&mortar shops in with local manufacturing.

    Currently work for an niche Aussie manufacturer who exports around the world and get involved with the manufacturing community.

    Just because the average consumer isn't the target market doesn't make it dead.

    • Save Medicare on 02/02/2024 - 09:44

      Solidteknics ozbargain deal when?

      • FimpBARGAIN on 04/02/2024 - 10:39

        Had to look up who they were, nah it's not them. Gear I work in has a few more kg and moving parts 😉

  • photonbuddy on 31/01/2024 - 09:05
    +7

    Back in 2016, the vacuum my Dad had bought from K-Mart died. At the time, Godfreys were having a sale on Miele units, so we went in to buy a 'good' unit, instead of the cheap K-Mart unit.

    The sales guy gave a demonstration of the unit we were looking at, and I asked what he would recommend. He pointed us to a Hoover - which they owned by then - and gave us a demonstration of it. It had the powered head, which the Miele didn't. It was more expensive, but so much easier to move with the head turned on. We bought that.

    As we were paying, he tried to sell us some extra bags, as he claimed, after hearing our K-Mart unit had just died, that the supplied bag would be full after the first use. We declined, and had a good laugh in the car on the way home.

    True to his word, this thing had so much more suction, that it did, indeed, fill the bag after the first clean. We were very impressed.

    Of course, we ended-up buying bags off E-Bay for less than half what they wanted.

    It was a pleasurable experience in-store. Sad to see them go, but I think they relied on after-sales supplies too much, as the modern buyer is savvy enough to compare prices online, often while in-store.

  • FallaM on 31/01/2024 - 09:06

    Honestly quite sad because I was there the other week to pick up a part and it was easy as

    But then again, why would you go to Godfrey's when JB or Good Guys are around the corner everywhere.

  • 82norm on 31/01/2024 - 09:13

    They just weren’t competitive. Overpriced products.

  • Oofy Doofy on 31/01/2024 - 09:28
    +1

    It was good to have a brick and mortar store for this market segment, but globalisation is taking its toll on everything.

    I thought they were quite price competitive all in all, but even that was probably cutting into their profit margins.

    A store like this could thrive in SEA, but Australians expect high salaries to be able to even exist in Australia due to insane property values (government policies at fault, in several areas. *see Alan Kohler's 86 page report on this) and living cost inflation (the invisible tax, also influenced by government policy).

  • payless69 on 31/01/2024 - 09:30

    So sad, we bought a number of steam cleaners there and always received superior service.

    We all know which former vacuum cleaner salesman to blame…

  • singlemalt72 on 31/01/2024 - 09:42

    On the plus side, I need a new vacuum, could be some run-out sales soon!

    • Slinky0111 on 01/02/2024 - 13:16

      Possibly already missed out. Most stores are closing today. All demo products are 75% off and chemicals, bags etc 25% off. There are sales for the BNIB machines but not the top of the range (tineco).

      I'm pretty happy though, picked up this machine for $249. 2 days old, never demonstrated, just turned on twice and had water run through it https://bissell.com.au/products/revolution-hydrosteam-3670f

  • stickingly on 31/01/2024 - 10:09
    +2

    My memory of them from a few encounters was very pushy and desperate sales people.

    Final straw was when my wife went in to buy a brand name cleaner that was advertised on special (before online shopping became a big thing) and was bullied into paying double for one of their crap in house brands

  • samcro on 31/01/2024 - 10:32
    +1

    Walk past our local Godfreys (in a main street) fairly frequently. Have never seen any more than one customer in there, mostly it's empty.

  • The Hawk on 31/01/2024 - 11:28

    We bought a couple of vacuums in the last couple of years from them, a Bissel carpet thing and a Tineco floor mop/vacuum thing.

    The Bissel is easy enough as just about anything I've bought works fine in it. The Tineco cleaning solution seems to work much better in the Tinceo machine and while I'm sure a little trial and error might find something else suitable, I might whip out and buy a couple of spare bottles of the branded stuff before they disappear. Probably worth doing it in person too rather than online order to be safe too.

    • Slinky0111 on 01/02/2024 - 13:17

      25% off products in-store. Most stores are closing today

  • Munki on 31/01/2024 - 11:38
    +3

    I read about someone's last experience with Godfreys was when they went to the store and saw staff using a Dyson. They just walked out.

  • jam scone on 31/01/2024 - 12:10
    +1

    Godfreys wasn't that bad a business model. At least you could demo the vacuums - I can't do that at JB.

    Good salespeople will sell anything, which made many Godfreys profitable for a period of time. I don't worry about how many people visit a shop; give me a product at a reasonable price so I can go vacuum. It's why I drive an FG Falcon, not because everyone likes them (the most ignored car on Oz rds) cause it's great value and very reliable.

  • JimB on 31/01/2024 - 12:38
    +1

    They should have sold Dyson, may not be the best product but that's what people want.

    And if you could test/demonstrate it unlike other stores, oldies like my parents would buy it.

    Actually my parents did buy a cordless one from there.

    I feel for the employees and store owners (some are franchise).. they also sell cleaning products too.

    But at the end of the day, their business model didn't change with consumer needs/wants.

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