Howards Storage World has a new, mystery owner.
Yet to be revealed, the saviour of the homewares franchise chain has both international and local retail and franchisee experience.
The news comes just two months after the retail chain sought voluntary administration.
“It’s happened very quickly,” voluntary administrator David Lombe told FranchiseBusiness.
Along with Deloitte Restructuring Services partner Vaughan Strawbridge, Lombe was appointed voluntary administrator of companies of the HSW Group on 9 December 2016.
Established on 1997, the home storage solutions retailer trades under the Howards Storage World brand and had a national footprint of 58 stores.
The sale follows a restructure of the group’s operations and the purchaser takes on the business and its franchise network.
“He’s a retail person who is very knowledgeable, and has big plans. I think the business will grow. He’s a good fit,” Lombe said.
“The HSW Group has been operating in a challenging market for some time, characterised by the failure of a number of established players in the retail sector due to ongoing pressures from deterioriating sales and margins in a highly competitive environment.
“In the space of two months, we have had to implement a number of restructuring strategies to help turn the HSW Group around and into a viable business, and able to continue to operate most of its own company stores, and to provide support to its franchisees.”
Lombe said “We’ve really been trying to deal with loss making stores and we’ve ended up with a profitable base.”
In the process, the number of stores and head office staff have been reduced.
Forty six stores are included in the transaction.
“Achieving this sale is a significant outcome, especially the ability to retain almost 80 percent of the store network, retaining around 160 jobs, and maintaining supplier relationships,” Lombe said.
“It demonstrates the strength of the brand and its niche offering.
“Importantly, the result could not have been achieved without the understanding and support of employees, suppliers, landlords, and the franchisees.”