All staff at a cosmetics firm have now been made redundant after administrators decided it could not be saved.
Pecksniff’s, based on Highbury Road industrial estate in Brandon, went into administration on Friday, June 12, leaving 97 employees facing an uncertain future.
The company, which manufactures fragrances and beauty products for customers including TK Maxx and its American counterpart, TJ Maxx, had been struggling during the coronavirus crisis.
Upon appointment, joint administrators Glyn Mummery and Paul Atkinson - of business advisory firm FRP - immediately made 37 members of staff redundant.
The remaining 60 staff members were initially retained to enable the business to continue trading while they “explored all options for the company” and fulfilled an outstanding contract.
But FRP concluded the firm could not be salvaged and confirmed all employees at the Suffolk headquarters, distribution site and store were now jobless.
In a statement, a spokesman for FRP said: “The joint administrators of Pecksniff’s Bespoke Fragrances and Cosmetics Limited have concluded that the business is unable to continue trading and is not viable in its current form.
“Regrettably, the remaining 60 staff have been redundant.”
Amid COVID-19 lockdown, the majority of Pecksniff’s workers had been furloughed or working from home for three months, but most were called to a meeting on June 11 and told of the business’ imminent collapse.
Others were unaware of the collapse until receiving an email at 10pm the next evening.
Following its appointment as administrator, FRP said Pecksniff’s had cited a “significant and unsustainable fall in orders in recent months that impacted its ability to meet its liabilities” as the reason for its failure.
The firm’s two stores, in Brandon and Brighton, remain closed having been shut already as a result of government restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic, while online sales are suspended.
A statement on the Pecksniff’s website says all placed orders “will be despatched on time and in full”.
Speaking earlier this week, joint administrator Glyn Mummery said: “The immensely challenging retail environment has affected many businesses across the industry’s supply chain and Pecksniff’s is no exception.
“Without the prospect of a significant uplift in trading, the directors made the difficult decision to file for administration.”
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