Financial trouble catches up with Notebooks R Us

Despite its best efforts to dig itself out of financial trouble at the end of 2006, Victorian-based reseller Notebooks R Us is now facing liquidation.

Last year December CRN wrote about the retailer’s best efforts to consolidate four of its Victorian-based stores into a ‘mega store’.

However previous owners Gerald and Rob O’Neil were forced to sell the business in January 2007, said administrator Paul Pattison of Pattison Consultancy.

Pattison said the reseller went into administration on the 21st October 2006, however the O’Neil brothers sold it to an unnamed owner, which is now being investigated by Pattison.

“Amongst other things we are investigating the sale of the business. We know who it is [who bought the business] but we have to establish the relationship between them and the O’Neil brothers,” he said.

Pattison was unable to confirm the exact amount of money the reseller owed because it’s waiting for confirmation from all of Notebooks R Us’ creditors.

“The creditors will decide whether or not to put the business in to liquidation on the 20th February,” said Pattison.

Garrison Huang, managing director of Melbourne-based distributor Anyware Computers said the reseller owed them a small amount of money.

“It [Notebooks R Us] was one of those retailers that couldn’t sustain the business because of the thin margins,” said Huang.

Ex-owner Gerald O’Neil refutes all the claims and said he would “not comment except to say we are currently in voluntary receivership.”

CRN will provide further details in the 5th March edition of the magazine.