EzyDVD (Australia) taken over ny FEG Group
02-13-09, 09:09 AM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
EzyDVD (Australia) taken over ny FEG Group
EzyDVD bought from receivers by Franchise Entertainment Group
Friday, 23 January 2009
James Thomson
"Franchise Entertainment Group, the operator of the Blockbuster and Video Ezy chains in Australia and Asia, has swooped on the assets of collapsed DVD retailer EzyDVD.
EzyDVD collaped in late December with debts of about $18 million. The chain, founded by Jim Zavos, claimed to have annual turnover of about $100 million.
Under the terms of the deal, FEG will buy the EzyDVD brand and online business, the franchise network, as well as stock, plant and equipment and 11 company-owned EzyDVD stores. The 25 franchised EzyDVD stores will also come under FEG’s control.
A price of the acquisition was not disclosed, although it is believed the deal was worth around $10 million.
But the deal will not come without pain for EzyDVD staff. The company’s head office, warehouse and distribution facility in South Australia will close in the next one-to-three months, with the loss of around 30 jobs.
EzyDVD’s receiver, Ferrier Hodgson, has also closed 15 unprofitable company-owned stores.
FEG director Paul Uniacke is clearly excited to have picked up a bargain.
He had actually conducted due diligence on EzyDVD back in June 2008 and was keen to buy some of the company’s assets back then.
“I just dusted off the files from last year when I heard the administrators were in,” he says
Uniacke is particularly please to be getting his hands on EzyDVD’s online business. FEG previously operated an online DVD retail business called Empire, but this was shut down a few years ago after losing money.
Uniacke had planned to relaunch a new Video Ezy online DVD sales site later this year, but says purchase of the EzyDVD online site will make this much easier."
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This has been one of my favorite international sites, so I hope it survives in the same customer-friendly way it has been in the past.
Friday, 23 January 2009
James Thomson
"Franchise Entertainment Group, the operator of the Blockbuster and Video Ezy chains in Australia and Asia, has swooped on the assets of collapsed DVD retailer EzyDVD.
EzyDVD collaped in late December with debts of about $18 million. The chain, founded by Jim Zavos, claimed to have annual turnover of about $100 million.
Under the terms of the deal, FEG will buy the EzyDVD brand and online business, the franchise network, as well as stock, plant and equipment and 11 company-owned EzyDVD stores. The 25 franchised EzyDVD stores will also come under FEG’s control.
A price of the acquisition was not disclosed, although it is believed the deal was worth around $10 million.
But the deal will not come without pain for EzyDVD staff. The company’s head office, warehouse and distribution facility in South Australia will close in the next one-to-three months, with the loss of around 30 jobs.
EzyDVD’s receiver, Ferrier Hodgson, has also closed 15 unprofitable company-owned stores.
FEG director Paul Uniacke is clearly excited to have picked up a bargain.
He had actually conducted due diligence on EzyDVD back in June 2008 and was keen to buy some of the company’s assets back then.
“I just dusted off the files from last year when I heard the administrators were in,” he says
Uniacke is particularly please to be getting his hands on EzyDVD’s online business. FEG previously operated an online DVD retail business called Empire, but this was shut down a few years ago after losing money.
Uniacke had planned to relaunch a new Video Ezy online DVD sales site later this year, but says purchase of the EzyDVD online site will make this much easier."
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This has been one of my favorite international sites, so I hope it survives in the same customer-friendly way it has been in the past.
02-13-09, 09:21 AM
#2
DVD Talk Gold Edition
I've actually had an open order sitting with them for over two months. Checking on their website over the last couple months has shown that a number of readily-available items are listed as out-of-stock. I was curious as to my order status so I just recently contacted them about it. Here is a snippet of the reply I received just a few days ago:
As EzyDVD was only recently bought by Franchise Entertainment Group, we are undergoing significant changes and the company is going through a transition period. This means that all data from the old EzyDVD systems are being transferred over to systems that reflect the stock levels of the warehouse of our new buyers.
We thank you for your patience during this time and can advise that your order should be processed within 1-3 weeks.
As EzyDVD was only recently bought by Franchise Entertainment Group, we are undergoing significant changes and the company is going through a transition period. This means that all data from the old EzyDVD systems are being transferred over to systems that reflect the stock levels of the warehouse of our new buyers.
We thank you for your patience during this time and can advise that your order should be processed within 1-3 weeks.
02-20-09, 06:01 AM
#3
Senior Member
Re: EzyDVD (Australia) taken over ny FEG Group
Uh, so that's why they never released Lili Marleen, although they promised and I had already placed a preorder in the fall...
02-20-09, 08:08 PM
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Re: EzyDVD (Australia) taken over ny FEG Group
I never knew that they were in trouble. I kept noticing that My Favorite Martian was always on backorder.
03-02-09, 07:59 AM
#5
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Just received the following e-mail in regard to my open order (mentioned in my previous post):
Dear Valued Customer,
We are very excited to inform you that EzyDVD has been purchased by the Franchise Entertainment Group. The Franchise Entertainment Group currently own a number of national DVD retail chains, and brings with it a wealth of industry experience, backed by fantastic customer service.
We are pleased to see that you currently have a pending order from the EzyDVD web site. We would like to dispatch your order as quickly as possible; however, your order was placed prior to the new ownership of EzyDVD, and so we do not have the authority to currently charge your order and process it.
So as to quickly release your order, we need to establish if you still wish to receive the title(s) at their current advertised price(s). We require your assistance in entering into your profile and deleting your entire order, and then re-ordering your title(s) should you still require them at the current advertised price on the website. Once you have completed this, we will ship your order as quickly as possible.
As we do not have the authority to charge orders placed prior to February 4th, any remaining orders in our system that pre-date the 4th will be deleted on Friday March 6th to ensure our customer profiles are accurate.
We certainly do appreciate your assistance in helping us to satisfy your order, and very much look forward to bringing you even better deals and outstanding customer service in the future.
Regards
EzyDVD Customer Service Team
Dear Valued Customer,
We are very excited to inform you that EzyDVD has been purchased by the Franchise Entertainment Group. The Franchise Entertainment Group currently own a number of national DVD retail chains, and brings with it a wealth of industry experience, backed by fantastic customer service.
We are pleased to see that you currently have a pending order from the EzyDVD web site. We would like to dispatch your order as quickly as possible; however, your order was placed prior to the new ownership of EzyDVD, and so we do not have the authority to currently charge your order and process it.
So as to quickly release your order, we need to establish if you still wish to receive the title(s) at their current advertised price(s). We require your assistance in entering into your profile and deleting your entire order, and then re-ordering your title(s) should you still require them at the current advertised price on the website. Once you have completed this, we will ship your order as quickly as possible.
As we do not have the authority to charge orders placed prior to February 4th, any remaining orders in our system that pre-date the 4th will be deleted on Friday March 6th to ensure our customer profiles are accurate.
We certainly do appreciate your assistance in helping us to satisfy your order, and very much look forward to bringing you even better deals and outstanding customer service in the future.
Regards
EzyDVD Customer Service Team
03-30-09, 12:55 PM
#6
DVD Talk Gold Edition
BUMP
Well, my back-ordered items came in-stock and my order has finally shipped. A bunch of stuff is still listed as out-of-stock, but maybe they are starting to make some progress. Hopefully, everything will be back to normal very soon.
And on a related R4 Australian e-tailer note, after being in a deep slumber for over a year, atlanticdvd.com.au has finally come back to life with a new web site. As with ezydvd, you'll find a bunch of out-of-stock items, but maybe they will be back in the game soon too.
Well, my back-ordered items came in-stock and my order has finally shipped. A bunch of stuff is still listed as out-of-stock, but maybe they are starting to make some progress. Hopefully, everything will be back to normal very soon.
And on a related R4 Australian e-tailer note, after being in a deep slumber for over a year, atlanticdvd.com.au has finally come back to life with a new web site. As with ezydvd, you'll find a bunch of out-of-stock items, but maybe they will be back in the game soon too.
