Blue MauMau:
The Kleenmaid Kitchen and Laundry Company has gone into administration, owing $67 million dollars. 150 staff have lost their jobs, with Kleenmaid’s 20 stores nationwide, including their 15 franchises, closing their doors.
As franchisees are considered unsecured creditors, they will likely receive nothing for their franchise investment.
The company was still selling franchises despite a former employee saying that “some staff had feared for the future of their jobs for at least a year” when the company started having “trouble filling orders and not being able to supply stock”.
One Sydney franchisee told radio 2GB that he bought a Kleenmaid franchise in November last year and is now “probably down $270,000 plus expenses.”