Published: 5 October 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Chocolate chain Max Brenner collapses citing costs and sluggish sales (SMH)
Upmarket chocolate and cafe chain Max Brenner's Australian business has gone into voluntary administration, citing rising costs and sluggish retail trade.
McGrathNicol, which was appointed administrator on Sunday by company directors, said Max Brenner's 37 stores would continue to trade as usual while it completed an urgent review.
McGrathNicol said it was assessing the prospect of selling Max Brenner as a going concern or recapitalising the business, which has about 600 staff and is headquartered in Alexandria, Sydney.
The Australian business is owned and run by husband and wife team Tom and Lilly Haikin, who hit BRW's Young Rich list in 2013 with a fortune of $40 million.
The Max Brenner brand was created by Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner in 1996 and initially consisted of a small chain of chocolate shops in Israel. It was Mr Haikin who reportedly encouraged the pair to branch out into "chocolate bar" cafes and then secured the Australian franchise rights, opening its first cafe in Sydney's Paddington in 1999.
There are currently 15 stores across NSW, 12 in Queensland, five in Melbourne, two in the ACT and Western Australia, and one each in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Photo: Michelle Smith (Fairfax)
