Jenny Craig’s Australian customers, staff await answers
Tara Cosoleto |
Jenny Craig’s Australian customers and workers have been told to sit tight as administrators try to restructure the company.
FTI Consulting was on Tuesday appointed to lead the voluntary administration of the weight management brand’s Australian and New Zealand operations.
It came after the Melbourne-founded business last week filed for bankruptcy in the United States.
FTI Consulting confirmed Vaughan Strawbridge, Kate Warwick and Joseph Hansell would lead the voluntary administration of the Australian and New Zealand companies, which operate separately to the US business.
The administrators intend for the companies to continue trading while they explore options to restructure.
Interested parties have already made contact with administrators, Mr Strawbridge said in a statement.
“We will be working with those parties and stakeholders of the business to secure the ongoing business,” he said.
Administrators would provide clarity to customers and staff “as soon as possible”, Mr Strawbridge said.
Jenny Craig was founded in Melbourne in 1983 and grew to become a household name as one of the biggest weight management companies in the world.
It has about 600 centres globally with more than 500 locations in North America.
Its main services consist of one-on-one personalised support with nutrition and lifestyle planning.
Various celebrities have featured as ambassadors over the years including singer Mariah Carey and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, known as Mel B.
Locally, comedian Magda Szubanski and the late Barry Humphries and his alter ego Dame Edna Everage were also ambassadors.
Private equity investment firm HIG Capital bought Jenny Craig in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.
AAP
