Aussie electricals retailer Dick Smith to shutter all stores after receivers fail to find a buyer

The shops will close within eight weeks, with the loss of almost 3,000 jobs.

Receiver Ferrier Hodgson said the offers it received for the business were either “significantly below liquidations values or highly conditional.”

The closures come just two years after the retailer listed on Australia’s stock exchange.

As previously reported, Dick Smith called in a voluntary administrator and receiver in January, 24 hours after suspending trading in its shares.

That came after it was forced to issue profit warnings in October and November last year, which caused its share price to plummet.

Bosses slashed prices across its stores in the run-up to Christmas in a last ditch bid to rejuvenate sales during the crucial trading period, but the strategy failed to have a significant impact on performance.

A syndicate of Dick Smith lenders, including National Australia Bank and HSBC, called in Ferrier Hodgson as receivers and appointed McGrathNicol as administrator.

Dick Smith chairman Rob Murray said at the time that directors were “confident on the long-term visibility of the company”.

But Ferrier Hodgson receiver James Stewart said today: “While we received a significant number of expressions of interest from local and overseas parties, unfortunately the sale process has not resulted in any acceptable offers for the group as a whole or for Australia or New Zealand as standalone businesses.

“The offers were either significantly below liquidation values or highly conditional or both.”