After being placed into receivership in March, the Colorado Group has relaunched as a new retailing group known as the Fusion Retail Brands.
This move secures the future of the brands that once made up the Colorado Group: Diana Ferrari; JAG; Mathers and Williams. The new group emerges with 282 stores and 2,200 employees.
Kevin Roberts, CEO of the new group said: This is a very exciting time to be a part of the future of these brands. We have seen this business go from the brink of collapse to emerge from receivership financially stable, with a secure balance sheet and a bright future.”
Roberts also said the key issue facing these brands previously was exposure to an over-geared balance sheet, but this has been restructured through the receivership process.
“Our debt has been reduced by 75 per cent and now we can get on with the business of growing these brands and making sure they reach their full potential,” he said.
Fusion Retail Brands will be owned by the main secured creditors of the Colorado Group including: Nomura; Anchorage Capital Partners; NAB and Ice Canyon.
According to the company, it will make significant investments in cap-ex and marketing over the next four years: a massive $40 million in cap-ex and more than $30 million in marketing expenditure, resulting in significant improvements in customers’ in-store and online experience.
The full year 2011 estimated normalised EBITDA for Fusion Retail Brands totals $21.7million with EBITDA for the following years estimated at $23.4 million on the turnover of $275.7 million for 2012; $30.8 million on the turnover of $295.7 million for 2013; and $34 million on turnover of $314.3 million in 2014.