Booktopia is back! After several months in administration, Australia’s favourite online bookstore has a new owner. The business was bought by Shant Kradjian, the same man who owns digiDirect, a successful online camera business that has seven physical locations.
There had been rumblings for several weeks that Booktopia had several buyers in mind, but it wasn’t until Monday 19th August 2024, that it was confirmed that the business had been bought. According to The Guardian, any staff not made redundant would be allowed to keep their jobs. It was also announced, as per the ABC, that those employees who were given redundancy notices would be allowed to reapply for their old jobs.
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New positions will be opened to fill the gap and allow the backed-up orders from Booktopia to be fulfilled. There were up to 150,000 orders that were not shipped when the business went into administration that were worth $12million. Many of the books that had been ordered, were pre-ordered and had not yet been arrived.
What Happens Now That Booktopia is Back?
It is unlikely that the business will be able to fulfil those orders as the debts that Booktopia have, were not part of the sale. Also, the business sold for less than what was owed. Be sure to check out the ABC article for a more detailed explainer on this.
The business is still in the process of resuming its operations. It is currently trading (likely on the stock market). It has an aim to get back to business by the end of the month. We wish the business luck. Once we know the business is trustworthy again, we will may order some more books, but we’ll have to wait and see.
