Furious workers have opened up about what it was like at Sneakerboy in the months leading up to the cult luxury shoe company’s demise.
For weeks, customers had been deluging the shop with bad reviews, criticizing it for not filling thousands of shoe orders.
In order to recover what it could after entering administration on Saturday, an administrator was appointed for Sneakerboy and two other businesses using the Sneakerboy name on Tuesday.
Both its website and the website for its parent organization, Luxury Retail Group, went offline on Wednesday.
The personnel at Sneakerboy are now outraged over the aftermath, according to a whistleblower who spoke to Daily Mail Australia.
They claim some of them are owed more than six months’ worth of wages.
The unnamed employee claimed that despite attempts by staff to contact the owners, “no reaction” had been received.
Some employees are unable to afford their rent or food. He stated, “This has been going on for more than six months.”
“There have been numerous complaints filed with Fairwork, and they are still pending.”
In a statement, the Fair Work Commission acknowledged that it was conducting “ongoing investigations” into Sneakerboy and advised any employees who had “concerns about their pay or entitlements” to get in touch with it immediately.
According to regulatory documents, well-known businessmen Theo Poulakis and Nelson Mair each own half of Sneakerboy through holding companies.
Mr. Poulakis and Mr. Mair are equally split between the four firms that make up the Luxury Retail Group.
John Poulakis, the multimillionaire founder of the upscale clothing label Harrolds, has a brother named Mr. Poulakis.
When John pled guilty to attempting to suffocate his elderly mother with a pillow and damaging his parents’ house in 2018, he just avoided being convicted.
We’ve gotten in touch with Mr. Mair and Sneakerboy for comments.
The administrators will deal with clients who are waiting for their orders, according to a statement on the Sneakerboy website.
“Sneakerboy is in Administration,” it says. The Administrators will henceforth be responsible for fulfilling all orders placed after July 2, 2022,” it stated.
If you have any orders that are older than July 2, 2022, call Hamilton Murphy at (03) 8866 7600.
The administrators for Sneakerboy Pty Ltd and the two linked companies utilizing the Sneakerboy name will be Stephen Dixon of Hamilton Murphy Advisory, according to a notification published on Saturday by the Australian Securities and Investments (ASIC).
Dixon was also named administrator for Sneakerboy’s parent firms Luxury Retail Treasury Pty Ltd and Luxury Retail Group Pty Ltd.
The creditors’ meeting will now be held on Wednesday, July 13.
‘As Administrator to the Sneakerboy Group of Companies, Hamilton Murphy Advisory is aware that a number of clients had pre-purchased stock prior to Sneakerboy entering Administration on July 2, 2022,’ the administrators’ statement stated.
Hamilton Murphy Advisory is quickly analyzing the stock and inventory levels held by Sneakerboy as part of the administration process and compiling that data for clients and creditors.
“The Administrator will get in touch with every client to talk about their customer orders within the week after all of this data has been compiled.
We are quickly speeding up this step of the administrative process since we recognize the worry some consumers may be experiencing.
We continue to receive various indications of interest from companies looking to acquire Sneakerboy’s assets and business as a continuing concern.
The Melbourne-based retailer is well-liked by sneakerheads and sells designer footwear, including $1,500+ Balenciaga shoes.
Additionally, it offers items from high-end labels like Moncler and Alexander McQueen.
The company’s flagship Sydney location is closed, despite the fact that it is shown as open online.
When it last opened its doors is unknown.
In June, Sneakerboy staged an unexpected online warehouse sale where it provided discounts of more than 70% on some items.
Additionally, it is now running a website-only deal with quite substantial discounts.
However, buyers who are already having trouble receiving the sneakers they ordered will be incensed by news of its administration.
The business’s Google review rating has now fallen to 1.6 stars as enraged clients leave nasty comments.
One person said, “I bought sneakers five months ago. I still haven’t gotten my reimbursement or my sneakers.
Another person claimed that following the crash, the store disabled comments on their Instagram.
I see that the customer service team is reviewing the ratings. Would you mind returning my emails?
A third person commented, “I wish I had read the reviews before making any online purchases from Sneakerboy. Never have I encountered such poor customer service.
I placed an order six weeks ago, but I haven’t heard anything since. I’ve made numerous attempts to get in touch with them but have never heard back.
“I only seem to get responses from my reviews,” All of my orders will be canceled, and I’ll be asking for a refund.
A fourth complained that they had ordered a pair of Balenciaga speed trainers in November but had yet to receive them.
“They finally emailed me after attempting to reach them for 6 months and stated that the order will arrive at their warehouse on April 1st. Yet nothing. Not a word.
The identical phrase was used by Sneakerboy in response to some of the Google evaluations it had gotten.
“We appreciate you taking the time to give us feedback. We can guarantee you that we are operating and will continue to do so.
We are also working to rapidly fulfill orders for customers during these busy shopping seasons.
Please contact our support team at help@sneakerboy.com, and we will make every effort to get back to you as soon as possible with more details on your order.
Early in April, Sneakerboy shuttered its location in Brisbane and delisted it from its website.
In June, the financial institution Banjo Loans filed winding up orders against two of the group’s companies.
Over the previous three years, there have been more than ten winding up applications filed against companies in the group overall.
The Australian Taxation Office and Adidas both have claims against The Luxury Retail Group for unpaid taxes and superannuation totaling $1.2 million and $148,000, respectively.
Sneakerboy promised to analyze all current and former employees’ compensation information last year.
While Nelson Mair, the CEO of Sneakerboy, did not think the company owed its employees any unpaid super, he had nonetheless ordered a thorough pay assessment, he said in an email to the workers in March 2021.
According to the Herald Sun, he wrote in an email to colleagues, “I take this problem seriously, as our personnel, past and present, remain our best asset and our point of distinction in this competitive industry.”
“We have been working systematically to make sure that all of our compliance is current since the COVID time.”
We have collaborated extensively with the ATO on this to make sure that our calculations and procedures are accurate.
According to what I hear, we have given our employees their due entitlements.
However, in light of the comments we have received, we have started reviewing the files of every single current and past team member.
Several former workers who claim they are owed super have previously contacted The Herald Sun.
To support their claims, the employees produced pay stubs and information from their superannuation accounts.
A worker who wished to remain anonymous produced an email dated December 2019 in which Sneakerboy admitted to not paying his super and promised to make up the shortfall by the start of 2020.
In March of last year, the employee claimed that the super had still not been paid.
I have absolutely no faith in the company, he declared.
“When I resigned, I brought up the issue of the unpaid super several times, and they assured me that it would be resolved immediately. Numerous follow-ups were made, but nothing was ever resolved.