Bank yesterday named KPMG as receivers in an attempt to salvage as much of its investment as possible, putting the day-to-day running of the business in the hands of KPMG. KPMG Australia’s restructuring services partner David Hardy said the receivers’ initial focus will be on “stabilising the operations of [BWX’s] much loved brands, before commencing an orderly sale process.” KPMG is expected to attempt to find a buyer for the whole of BWX, or sell the parts off, depending on what the market wants. Flora & Fauna’s founder Julie Mathers said on LinkedIn that she was upset the business had fallen into administration, and that her thoughts were with the business’ staff. “I’ve worked for two businesses that have either gone into administration or been wound down, [and] it’s not pleasant,” Mathers said.  “All of the businesses under BWX’s umbrella are phenomenal individual businesses. Under the right leadership with the right understanding of what makes these businesses tick they will thrive.” So, what went wrong, and what’s next? “Off the rails” As Inside Retail recently outlined, the decline of BWX has occurred over the course of several years, but 2022 was the year when “everything went off the rails,” according to The Growth Activists’ managing partner Rosanna Iacono.  “They unveiled a purpose-built, fancy new head office in Clayton, Victoria… I think they’ve done some really irrational things, and maybe they should have been consolidating,” she told Inside Retail. Iacono, who was Jurlique’s global chief brand officer from 2010-2013, believes that BWX failed to meaningfully capitalise on the massive desire for natural beauty products: a market that has been growing considerably for over a decade, and one that BWX was well-placed to be a leader in, given its brand portfolio. “The size of that market has grown consistently, and has taken market share away from synthetic [beauty products],” Iacono said.  “[BWX] should have been riding the coattails of a natural market growth story, [and] I’d say they didn’t double down and ride it as well as they could have.” Brand power Media reports of BWX’s collapse have mainly focused on the future of Zoe Foster Blake’s skincare brand Go-To, 50.1 per cent of which is owned by BWX.  Go-To is run independently of BWX, and isn’t directly impacted by the administration, save for the fact that another business may be able to buy up the company’s majority stake for less than the $89 million BWX paid for it in 2021.  As for BWX’s other brands, as well as its e-commerce businesses, it’s difficult to know what will happen, given Hardy’s comment around an “orderly sale process”. The brands could be sold off, or right-sized and kept under the BWX banner. If BWX is going to remain competitive moving forward, Iacono said, it needs to rethink its business strategy. “I think they have to decide what sort of business they want to be, and they can go in a couple of directions,” Iacono said.  Firstly, BWX could return to its roots as a house of brands, offload its multi-brand marketplaces, Flora & Fauna and Nourished Life, and refocus on the growth of Sukin. Alternatively, it could sell off its international brands, such as Andalou, and refocus on the Australian market. And finally, it could sell off its individual brands and instead focus on consolidating its place within online beauty, investing back into Flora & Fauna and Nourished Life.  “My gut feeling is that with their heritage and their core capabilities, they’re going to go back to being an amazing house of brands, rather than be distracted across multiple business models,” Iacono said. “But you never know.”