Clothing company Line 7 might be sold as a going concern after being put into receivership.

Receiver Grant Graham of KordaMentha, said sales would be held in Line 7 stores to move stock.

Then the receivers would look at selling assets such as trademarks, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The business might be sold as a going concern, Mr Graham said.

“We’ll look at the prospect of that. It’s an iconic brand, and I would suspect there’ll be real interest in that. Whether it would continue with the retail footprint, I’m not so sure.

“But I doubt if New Zealand’s seen the last of the Line 7 brand.”

Line 7 is known for its quality sailing and outdoor gear and more recently men’s and women’s casual gear.

It provided clothing for crews in the America’s Cup, and has agreements to make clothing for the New Zealand A1GP motor racing team, Rowing NZ, and the Sir Peter Blake Trust.

The Dominion Post reported Line 7 chief executive Ross Munro hoped the company could be sold to a New Zealand or Australian company as a going concern, but a wind-down was most likely.

The company has 11 stores and employs about 80 staff in this country. All its clothing is now made in Asia, mainly China.

Mr Munro said the company had been hurt by a big fall in the New Zealand dollar since last year, affecting the cost of its Asia-made products. Most of the money Line 7 owes is to overseas suppliers.

“The last few months have been very tough for us. We have experienced a significant drop in the dollar, which put our cost of sales up significantly,” Mr Munro said.

Customers had also been slow with their payments.

Mr Munro bought the Line 7 brand out of receivership about 20 years ago.

[source: guide2.co.nz]