Outdoor living goods retailer 4 Seasons has been placed into receivership and owes creditors an estimated $8.5 million.

Richard Nacey and John Fisk of PwC were appointed receivers of 4 Seasons’ Nelson-based holding company Retail Links Ltd, on August 30, following a special resolution passed by the directors asking Bank of New Zealand to appoint receivers.

Up to 300 customers learnt on Monday they would not have their orders delivered – for items such as BBQs and spas – or have their deposits returned.

Secured creditors including Inland Revenue were owed about $4.5m.

Nacey says the nationwide chain’s five stores have been temporarily closed while the receivers work to find a buyer to take over the business.

4 Seasons employed 38 staff at the time of receivership and has stores in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth and Nelson.

“A couple of staff” had decided to leave of their own will, but Nacey says there has been no redundancies.

At the company’s Nelson office on Tuesday some staff were visibly upset.

One worker says the unsecured creditors included people who had bought items like spas for about $45,000.

Some staff say they were told last month that the company was in a stable position.

A customer at the office says she was shocked to learn she would not get the burner she had bought with a credit card for more than $2000.

She would contact her card provider to see if she could get a refund, but faced being in a position where she had lost the money – and still needed a burner.

Nacey says he's hopeful the business could be sold as a going concern.

The business fell into financial strife following a slow-down in sales due to the discretionary nature of its products, including BBQs, spa pools, indoor and outdoor fireplaces and furniture, says Nacey.

“Given the discretionary nature of a number of the goods and the way things have been getting tougher from an economic perspective, trading has slowed, which has resulted in cash flow issues.”

The company’s directors, brother and sister Catherine and Jonathon Cameron, had “encountered some cash flow issues to the point where they needed to make the decision they could no longer trade”, he says.

The pair declined to comment.

It's too early to determine whether there's likely to be “a distribution” to unsecured creditors, says Nacey.

Nacey says the receivers are contacting “potential interested parties” and have begun advertising the business for sale.

“We are looking to canvas any interest and that’s going to result in the best outcome for creditors. We want to sell this as a going concern if we could.”

The receivers so far estimated that the company owed creditors between $8m and $8.5m.

Staff were paid their outstanding wages on Wednesday.

All stores had been closed “for a couple of days” while the receivers worked out the value of stock. They planned to reopen them later this week, he says.

“There is a good level of stock and this is a relatively well-known brand, it has got a good store footprint, particularly around the North Island, and we think with the right purchaser it could do really well.

“We’re doing our very best to get the best result we can for creditors.”

-Aimee Shaw and Katy Jones/Stuff.