After nearly 40 years of operation Harrolds was quietly placed into liquidation at the start of October.

The company was founded in 1985 with its first store opened in Melbourne and was the Australian home of fashion brands from the likes of Tom Ford to Saint Laurent and Balmain to Burberry.

It was a family owned business and Australia’s only privately owned luxury department store and at one stage had stores in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

In March its Melbourne site had some famous guest visit too with Nick and Kevin Jonas captured in store.

Harrolds also…

Justice Linda Chan adjourned the case until May 26 after hearing a petition from Ever Credit, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard Holdings, which makes laminates and chemicals.

At the hearing, Ever Credit asked the judge to grant an immediate liquidation order, while another creditor requested a four-week adjournment. Country Garden’s lawyer, Jose-Antonio Maurellet, told the court that the company needed another four months, but it should be able to agree on a term sheet with creditors by the end of February.

In a statement last week, Country Garden said it expected to reach an agreement with offshore creditors on a debt restructuring plan in the first half of 2025.

Earlier this month, the Foshan-based developer released its first…

Recent economic trouble is taking a toll on Aussies, with a large increase in the number of people seeking financial counselling.

In 2024, over 169,000 people reached out to the National Debt Helpline (NDH), a 12 per cent increase on the year prior.

Meanwhile, website visits to the NDH climbed by 32 per cent over the year, reaching a total of 647,000.

According to Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) CEO Peter Gartlan, these statistics highlighted just how many people are struggling to keep on top of debt.

“The increase in people coming to the NDH for help shows how difficult it is for many people at the moment. Cost of living pressures are mounting and having a significant impact on the financial…

According to a previous Herald report, Olivado had an unsuccessful expansion to Queensland, then went to Kenya, where investor Alan Mountfort was shot in the early 2000s.

Kaitāia-based avocado packer Far North Avocado Suppliers Limited operated an avocado pack house in Northland.

Liquidator Garry Whimp told the Herald Olivado owed the suppliers some money but did not say how much.

“The whole industry’s experienced problems. Cash flow’s been squeezed. It’s a supply-and-demand sort of situation.”

He said people involved in the avocado companies were doing the best they could.

In 2020, avocados were…