Five more Laura Ashley stores to close as voluntary administration continues

Five Laura Ashley stores in Victoria and New South Wales will close and 25 employees will lose their jobs, as the voluntary administration of the Australian retail chain continues.

FTI Consulting, which was appointed to manage the voluntary administration of the company on January 7, said yesterday the closures are part of an ongoing restructure of the business.

The Victorian stores that will close are located in Geelong and the Melbourne suburbs of Doncaster and Brighton.

In NSW, the Laura Ashley stores in Newcastle and Balgowlah will also close.

The administrators previously closed seven outlets in Brisbane and Robina in Queensland, Perth in Western Australia, and Richmond, Harbour Town, Fountain Gate and Elizabeth Street in Melbourne.

“The administrators continue to restructure the operations of Laura Ashley as we pursue the sale of the company as a going concern,” said administrator Ross Blakeley in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

“There are still 25 stores continuing to trade around Australia and we are working closely with a number of interested parties with respect to the potential sale of the business.”