{"id":38877,"date":"2023-10-20T14:59:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/online-retailer-nasty-gal-files-for-bankruptcy-hours-after-founders-talk-on-business-success-in-melbourne-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:59:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:59:26","slug":"online-retailer-nasty-gal-files-for-bankruptcy-hours-after-founders-talk-on-business-success-in-melbourne-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/online-retailer-nasty-gal-files-for-bankruptcy-hours-after-founders-talk-on-business-success-in-melbourne-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Online retailer Nasty Gal files for bankruptcy hours after founder’s talk on business success in Melbourne – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"sophia<\/div>\n

US online retailer Nasty Gal said it will file for bankruptcy protection just hours after founder and high profile entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso addressed a packed auditorium in Melbourne to share the secrets to her business\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

On Thursday Recode reported the $US100 million ($131 million) retailer<\/a> was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the equivalent of voluntary administration in Australia, in order to restructure its affairs, and that Amoruso was to step down as executive chairman of the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur decision to initiate a court-supervised restructuring will enable us to address our immediate liquidity issues, restructure our balance sheet and correct structural issues,\u201d Nasty Gal chief executive Sheree Waterson said in a press release reportedly provided to Fortune<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Amoruso is the author of entrepreneur memoir Girlboss<\/em> and has been in Australia this week on a speaking tour with professional development network Business Chicks.<\/div>\n

On Thursday morning she addressed a large crowd for a Melbourne breakfast event, at which SmartCompany <\/em>was in attendance.<\/p>\n

She gave no indication the company faced any challenges, and instead reflected on her business philosophy, her place on Forbes\u00a0<\/em>top self-made millionaire list and her future projects.<\/p>\n

However, at a Business Chicks event in Sydney this morning, the founder did speak about the company\u2019s bankruptcy filing, reportedly through tears.<\/p>\n

The crowd praised her for her vulnerability on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cA decade above the influence. Onward, babies,\u201d she tweeted on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect this to happen while I\u2019m here. Leading up to a choice like this that a board has to make to fulfil its judiciary [sic] responsibilities, there are so many factors and options on the table.<\/p>\n

Many were considered\u2026 and ultimately\u00a0what was crazy is that filing a Chapter 11\u2026 it\u2019s actually the most responsible thing to do right now, which is just like a bonkers thing to actually consider,\u201d Amoruso told Business Chicks founder\u00a0Emma Isaacs this morning at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my first business\u2026 I got really far.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nasty Gal journey<\/h3>\n

The Nasty Gal business launched in 2006 and was originally an eBay store before becoming one of the first retailers in the US market to create a custom voice and style online.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a time where nobody was doing what I was doing, which is crazy to consider,\u201d Amoruso told the crowd in Melbourne on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The brand developed a cult following in social media, which Amoruso explained was a result of her approach to speaking to customers as though they were peers in a community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time I said we instead of \u2018hey it\u2019s me\u2019,\u201d she said of the days when the business was a sole concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always very conversational with my audience. You can gauge things without real data by just the sentiment online.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years ago Amoruso handed her chief executive role over to Sheree Waterson, a decision she told the Melbourne crowd came from understanding her own strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself really in the weeds\u2026 in the ways that weren\u2019t fun and creative,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of meetings about deliverable and deadlines, and I\u2019m not even the most organised person to drive those things. C-level executives who had a lifetime of experience were reporting into me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She retained her role as executive chairman of the company, although she will reportedly move on from that role after bankruptcy papers are filed.<\/p>\n

Amoruso also spoke about the new projects on her horizon, including a Netflix television show being produced by Charlize Theron which chronicles the events in her memoir, Girlboss<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In June of this year she was featured on the cover of Forbes\u00a0<\/em>magazine after making the\u00a0richest self-made women list, with an estimated net worth of $US280 million.<\/p>\n

In Melbourne yesterday she said the opportunity to be featured in Forbes<\/em> was one you don\u2019t say no to, but that figures on her actual worth had never been confirmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all conjecture, I\u2019ve never confirmed anything,\u201d she said of her personal wealth.<\/p>\n

\n

Sophia Amoruso bursts into tears onstage as she talks about the bankruptcy of Nasty Gal at #BusinessChicks<\/a> – “It’s been a wild ride”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rebecca Sullivan (@beck_sullivan) November 10, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Over the past year the Nasty Gal business has faced a number of challenges, including news of lawsuits from employees and staff layoffs.<\/p>\n

The online retail space in the United States has been soft over the past 12 months, with retail analysts highlighting that the dominance of Amazon and weak consumer confidence, particularly in the lead up to election 2016, has put niche retailers in a difficult position.<\/p>\n

The New York Times\u00a0<\/em>reports this morning that online sales in the US still only account for 38% of total sales<\/a>, and many digital retailers are creating permanent or pop-up bricks-and-mortar set ups to go with online offerings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would have freaked out about two years ago, I can just handle now. And hopefully that\u2019s how I feel two years from now. Hopefully this never happens to me again!\u201d Amoruso said this morning.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on SmartCompany<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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