Pioneering Brisbane recycling enterprise Circonomy was positioned in voluntary liquidation on Friday with founder Yas Grigaliunas saying the 11-year-old enterprise was now not financially viable.
Liquidators James Taplin and Stefan Dopking of BRI Ferrier had been handed the books to evaluation the corporate’s operations for a doable sale.
Circonomy started in life in 2013 because the charity fundraiser the World’s Greatest Storage Sale (WBGS), providing a variety of merchandise together with repaired, recycled or refurbished merchandise, in a bid to scale back waste and prices and enhance sustainability. Two years later WBGS grew to become an organization and following yr Grigaliunas started setting the stage to launch Circonomy as a closed loop restore, repurpose and resale enterprise.
Circonomy launched in September 2022, a month after Officeworks took a 21% stake within the enterprise. The enterprise provides retailer had plans to develop the idea right into a nationwide restoration and restore service beneath the Circonomy model, increasing past furnishings and workplace provides, to retail merchandise that will in any other case be despatched to landfill.
On the time Officeworks MD Sarah Hunter mentioned they’d partnered with WBGS for the earlier three years.
“Collectively we’ve demonstrated a possible mannequin to gather, restore, repurpose and resell broken or buyer returned merchandise. We’re excited to copy and scale this mannequin throughout Australia,” she mentioned.
The upcycler additionally collaborated with different retailers resembling Catch, David Jones, and Azura to supply a large of client items at reductions of as much as 80%. At present the vary spans homewares, clothes and footwear, magnificence and private care merchandise, toys, sports activities gear, watches and know-how.
Late final yr, they opened a 2nd retailer within the north Melbourne suburb of Reservoir.
In an announcement saying the choice to position Circonomy in voluntary liquidation, Grigaliunas mentioned that regardless of the very best endeavours of the crew to extend gross sales and scale back prices, the enterprise was now not financially viable.
“We categorical our deepest gratitude to all who’ve been a part of this journey – our crew, our companions, and our shareholders. Your perception in our mission has been the driving pressure behind each milestone we’ve achieved,” she mentioned.
“Our focus is now on supporting our workers by this course of, in any manner we are able to. We perceive the impression this determination can have on them and we don’t take it calmly. Whereas this isn’t the result we had hoped for, we’re happy with the optimistic impression Circonomy has made. The teachings realized and the connections solid will proceed to affect the round financial system panorama.”
Grigaliunas mentioned the enterprise was a key driver for environmental sustainability and created vital social impression, and their ardour for impression and innovation, with a concentrate on folks, planet, and profit-for-purpose, stays sturdy.
