Yesterday, PricewaterhouseCooper administrators announced that they had secured a potential buyer for troubled clothing retailer Postie Plus, a buyer that media now understands to be an 8-year-old child with spare change.
The retailer, which was placed under voluntary administration earlier this week, suffered an immense loss of $11.6 million last year, effectively putting the future of the company in serious jeopardy.
But PwC administrators said they were committed to finding a “suitable” buyer to bail out the company, someone who would be willing to pay “top dollar” to acquire its 82 New Zealand stores.
Administrators acknowledged that – in negotiations with potential buyers – they were probably asking for “a little more” than the business was likely worth, but any fears surrounding that were quickly alleviated yesterday when it was confirmed to media that they had secured an “interested party” ready and willing to buy.
That buyer is said to be 8-year-old North Shore boy Eugene Griffiths, who recently came upon wealth when his grandfather gifted to him a large sum of money, understood by sources close to the situation to be somewhere in the realm 5 to 10 New Zealand dollars.
Negotiations with the boy were said to be tough, apparently complicated by a promise he had made to his grandfather not to spend the money “all at once.”
PwC administrator Colin McCloy said that, while the deal was not yet secured, discussions with the boy and his family had been “positive” and “fruitful.”
“Obviously they’re asking us some fairly standard questions, like ‘What would our son want with Postie Plus?’ or ‘Is Postie Plus really going to be worth 5 to 10 dollars in the long run?’” he said. “All these are very reasonable questions, and we’ll be working through those issues and others as we move towards closing the deal.
“There will be critics and sceptics, obviously, but this is the kind of money that I don’t think anyone would’ve expected to get for Postie Plus, so we’re reasonably happy with the initial outline.”
McCloy said that customers, employees and shareholders alike could expect “major” changes if Griffiths did end up securing the business, with restructuring plans by the 8-year-old said to include “big dinosaurs” and “dessert now.”
Asked if he believed these changes would make the retailer more appealing to consumers, McCloy said he believed it would, but “so would anything, at this point.”