Online 'shabby chic' furniture retailer placed in administration due to shipping delays and rising costs

Bradford-based Luxury Home Furniture, trading as Shabby, suffered a slump in trade and cashflow problems as a result of the pandemic, supply chain issues and cost increases.Steven Wiseglass, a director at Manchester-based Inquesta Corporate Recovery & Insolvency, has been appointed as administrator and is seeking to sell the Shabby brand, website, goodwill and stock.

Shabby has its warehouse, offices and showroom at Ashfield Mill on Leeds Road, Idle, Bradford. A total of six jobs have been lost as a result of Shabby ceasing to trade.

The business supplied high-end sofas, tables, chairs, lighting, ornaments, candles and decorative jars and had sales of £2m in its last financial year.

It has nearly 500,000 followers on social media and has been a distinctive brand in the shabby chic home furnishing market.

Mr Wiseglass said Shabby had expanded during the first lockdown but then became severely impacted by shipping delays, increased operating and import costs, the loss of its biggest UK supplier, adverse customer reaction to a hike in prices, creditor pressure and, ultimately, falling sales.

He added: “The directors tried to keep the business afloat but unfortunately this combination of factors had a devastating impact on its viability and they were ultimately unable to save it.

“The business has now ceased trading and we have been appointed as administrator to find the best outcome for creditors.

“The process to seek a buyer for the brand, website, goodwill and remaining stock is under way.

“Chartered surveyors Walker Singleton has been instructed to market the assets and inquiries from potential purchasers should be directed to its advisory team in the Leeds office.”

Mr Wiseglass added: “Regrettably, the company has insufficient cash to fulfil outstanding orders or to provide refunds to customers awaiting goods. Affected customers should contact their credit or debit card provider or payment platform to arrange a chargeback where possible.

“We recognise this will sadly cause inconvenience to customers who have paid for goods but have not received them.”

Inquesta has set up a dedicated email address [email protected] to handle customer queries.