Rivals offer help as Christmas hamper company goes bust

Christmas hamper company Mrs Christmas has collapsed with debts of $3 million.

The business was put into liquidation yesterday by courier company Post Haste, which is still owed for Christmas deliveries.

Liquidator Damien Grant of Waterstone Insolvency said Mrs Christmas' financial problems were due to its attempt to expand into Australia last year. He was confident the business could be sold as a going concern, or its customer list could be sold.

Competing hamper companies Chrisco and Hampsta have been quick to pounce on news of Mrs Christmas' troubles, with both taking out full-page ads in national newspapers in recent weeks.

Chrisco offered "to rescue Christmas for thousands of families potentially stranded if Mrs Christmas collapses".

Yesterday Chrisco reiterated its offer to credit Mrs Christmas customers with any payments they have made this year to date if they switch to a Chrisco order of a similar amount.

"We are very concerned for all customers of Mrs Christmas and sympathise with them at the difficult situation they have been placed in," group CEO Richard Bradley said.

Later a company spokesperson said Chrisco would consider purchasing the Mrs Christmas customer list because it was the only way to ensure its offer would reach all Mrs Christmas customers.

However, Chrisco did not yet have specific information from the liquidator.

Mr Grant said campaigns to poach Mrs Christmas customers were unhelpful, but did not appear to have made huge inroads to date. "But that's one of the reasons why we want to get a fairly quick resolution to this."

He hoped a sale could be completed by the end of the week.

Anyone who bought the Mrs Christmas list would be required to honour the contracts to date.

Mrs Christmas had 3500 customers, and a typical order was worth $1000.

Meanwhile, Hampsta general manager Gary Alway said the traditional model of hamper businesses did not work.

The company's own ads in connection with Mrs Christmas' problems promoted the fact that its customers' contributions are held independently by the Public Trust.

"Both Mrs Christmas, Chrisco and other hamper businesses trade behind the poorly constructed legislation of the Laybys Act of 1971 that offers no security for customers' money. These companies can basically use that money for whatever they decide."

Mr Alway said Hampsta was prepared to back what Chrisco was doing in some way, on the basis that Chrisco ensured security of customer money.