This is a small excerpt from our upcoming Power Edition, where Sakic reveals 5 lessons she learned to become a more successful retailer. You can subscribe here.
One of the objectives of putting a business into voluntary administration is to see if a financially stressed business can be saved or restructured.
If the answer is no, the idea is that it will drive the best return to creditors versus an immediate liquidation or sale of the business.
Only about one in every four voluntary administration regimes meet the objective and recover and I was determined to be one of them.
Giving up the business and sitting on the sidelines, even though it was a relatively short period of time was challenging, but I had to trust in the administrators and directors like my accountant.
The days were filled with reports, records and numbers.
Black and white conversations.
Yes and no answers.
And, a tight schedule that could have meant that the announcement we made about our comeback could have been a different one.
One of the things I wasn’t ready for was the unrelenting pace.
Timing is everything.
From the appointment to the last meeting.
Everything is regimented and had to be within certain day ranges from each other.
Originally, I thought making the decision to go into voluntary administration would be the hardest part.
What I wasn’t expecting was that was just the start.
The biggest help for me was to rest and recharge.
If you’re considering of making this drastic decision the advice, I’d give is do what you need to keep going and to get back up again.
What worked for me was doing yoga first thing in the morning and making sure I got into the office at 7am so I could structure and prioritise my day or problem solve key pieces before the team came in.
This really made a difference to my vibe for the day and how I could continue to support my team and the administrators.
The iconic designer retailer has now traded out of administration, with expanded product categories and new initiatives in the pipeline.