Grant Arnott, the founder of Click Frenzy, is remarkably candid about the pressure last month’s liquidation put on his team. “The period leading up to the receivership was the end of a years-long period of sustained high stress, that was taking a toll on everyone involved, not just me,” he said. “Now, I am just focused on moving forward, and I have had overwhelming support from staff, former colleagues, and industry leaders I admire greatly.” Arnott’s businesses, which also included
ed Global Marketplace and Power Retail, entered liquidation on April 1, just weeks after the latter publication held its final conference. The appointed receivers from Wexted Advisors cited cashflow challenges and the ongoing US-Iran conflict as the final blow for Global Marketplace, the parent company of Arnott’s empire, bringing an end to 16 years of business ownership.
Arnott conceded that the “pressure is on”, but it has taken a different form. “Being out of business prison. I like it,” he added. But how did Global Marketplace get to this point? “In my view, what happened in March this year really started with decisions made back in 2021. We were in partnership with private equity since 2016, and the goal was to exit in five years.”
Inside Retail briefly spoke with investment firm Tanarra Capital upon the news of Click Frenzy and Power Retail’s liquidation. A representative for the company confirmed that it was no longer involved with Arnott and Global Marketplace, parting ways “a long time ago”.
The company’s revenue had tripled during this partnership. “We were profitable and had cash in the bank,” said Arnott, as the focus shifted to an Initial Public Offering (IPO). To reach the requisite size to be an attractive investment come the time of an IPO, Global Marketplace purchased NZ-based Grab One in 2021 for around $14.3 million (NZ$17.5 million).
“That used up all our cash, and we took on a large amount of debt. Less than a year later, the IPO window had closed, Covid ended, interest rates and cost of living rose, the New Zealand economy was in poor shape, and the business struggled,” Arnott said, adding that it had “been a battle ever since”.
The Grab One experiment ended in October 2025; the now-iconic New Zealand e-commerce platform was bought out by Paradigm Group in March. It was reported to be $16.5 million in debt at the time of its liquidation. “It’s my view that ultimately that period of overspending proved fatal, and we were never in a position to recover. Not for lack of trying, we have given it our all, but we could not get there,” he added.
Meanwhile, Click Frenzy has been acquired by the Leibovich brothers, founders of e-commerce giant Catch Group.
Arnott worked closely with Wexted Advisors on the sale. “But moving forward, it is up to the new owners what they want to do,” he said.
He argued that the age of event-based e-commerce – packaging sales from various retailers into short-term windows – is not over. From Click Frenzy’s infamous first sales event in 2012, which received so much traffic that its website crashed from the pressure of 1 million unique visitors, the business was at the centre of the 2020 e-commerce boom, with a single sales event in May of that year seeing its visitor numbers rise by 103 per cent.
The former success of this model is one that Arnott put confidence behind both Gabby and Hezi Leibovich to revive. “I am convinced consumers are still looking for exceptional breakout experiences, and I’m very keen to see how the new owners address this – they know how from their Catch experience, and I think shoppers are in for some excitement,” Arnott added.
But he sounded the alarm on so-called copycat events and sales, “diluting the impact of our model”. But, in his view, the Leibovich brothers already recognise that customers no longer have to wait for mega sales. “We were into a new strategy less reliant on netbuster events, but couldn’t beat the cashflow issues.”
Further reading: Click Frenzy, Power Retail enter liquidation, blaming Iran war
