62 company-owned stores are set to close as bbq galore prepares to cease trading this month after a rescue deal with suppliers could not be finalised. About 500 employees are facing redundancy, while 27 franchise stores will stay outside the shutdown and keep trading.
June 16 Store Closures
62 company-owned stores will start closing from June 16, with New South Wales losing 33 locations, Victoria 19, Queensland 18, Western Australia 14, South Australia five, Tasmania three, the Australian Capital Territory two and the Northern Territory one. For customers, that means the company’s physical footprint is being stripped back to the franchise network, not a full national exit.
27 franchise stores will not be impacted by the closures. Gift cards will be honoured until June 30, but only if shoppers spend twice their value in cash, which sets a tight limit on how much value can be recovered at checkout.
February Administration Failed
In February, the company was placed into voluntary administration because of liquidity issues, and a deed of company arrangement proposal from Gordon Bros could not be signed off. Commercial trading terms with suppliers also could not be agreed, cutting off the rescue path that had been intended to keep the business operating.
That failure leaves the country’s largest barbeque and outdoor furniture retailer heading into closure with no supplier-backed restructuring in place. Staff are expected to be informed on Tuesday afternoon, a timing that puts the workforce on notice before the first wave of store shutdowns begins.
500 Workers Facing Redundancy
Approximately 500 employees are facing redundancy, spread across the company-owned estate that is being wound down. The immediate pressure now shifts from the failed rescue to payroll, notices and exit arrangements for workers whose sites are on the closure list.
Shoppers holding a $50 gift card, for example, would need a $150 total purchase and $100 paid in cash to use it under the stated redemption rule. That is the practical test for anyone still trying to spend store credit before June 30, and it puts a strict ceiling on how far those cards will stretch.
The remaining franchise stores are the only part of the chain left untouched by the closures, while the company-owned network disappears state by state. For employees and customers tied to those sites, June 16 is the date that changes the business from a national retailer into a shrinking shell of its former footprint.
