Popular Aussie bottle shop business collapses and staff are immediately fired
- Bottle shop Boozebud has collapsed
- Insufficient funds led to its collapse
Australian online bottle shop BoozeBud has collapsed and its staff have been fired with immediate effect.
The company announced on Tuesday that it would no longer accept orders from customers on its website.
The directors of Boozebud Holdings Ltd and Pocko Pty Ltd have appointed Michael Brereton and Sean Wengel of William Buck as joint managers of both companies.
Mr Brereton revealed that a lack of funds had led to the collapse of the Sydney-based company.
Online bottle shop BoozeBud has gone bankrupt, with Michael Brereton revealing that a lack of funds led to the collapse of the Sydney-based company (pictured, Boozebud ad)
“We have made the difficult decision that the company does not have enough resources to continue,” he said news.com.au.
‘We are therefore forced to stop accepting future orders via the online portal. We have also made the difficult decision to lay off staff.’
Mr Brereton added that a “majority of the board of directors” has resigned from Boozebud in recent months.
The company was launched in 2014 by Alex Gale, Mark Woollcott and Andy Williamson under the name Beerbud.
It initially focused on selling craft beer and competing with physical bottle shops and online alcohol retailers.
The bottle shop was rebranded as Boozebud in 2016 to sell a wider range of spirits.
Launched in 2014 under the name Beerbud, the company initially focused on selling craft beer and competing with brick-and-mortar bottle stores (pictured, Boozebud ad)
It was acquired in 2018 by ZX Ventures, AB InBev’s global investment and innovation group. AB InBev is the former owner of Carlton United Breweries.
AB InBev was acquired by Asahi in 2019. The Japanese beverage conglomerate then sold Boozebud back to its founders in 2020.
Boozebud acquired Get Wines Direct later in December 2021.
Get Wines Direct now operates as an independent company and it is clear that the online bottle service will not be affected by the collapse of Boozebud.
Boozebud is the latest online delivery service to go under after the collapse of Send, DashMart, Voly, MilkRun and Deliveroo.
