Retail chain Yoyoso has been placed into liquidation with debts totalling millions of dollars.
Yoyoso Group comprises retail brands including Yoyoso, Miniso, and Acecco.
Eight Auckland stores were trading when Yoyoso entered liquidation, but they will close this month, liquidator McDonald Vague said.
“The liquidators have closed the Northcote supermarket (Acecco Supermarket Limited) location due to lack of trading revenue but continued to trade at the Mt Albert location.”
“The Yoyoso and Miniso stores have continued to trade to reduce the stock levels at each of the stores. As stock levels reduce and/or landlords make decisions on the timing of the stores closing, the stores will be vacated and closed with the expectation to have almost all stores closed or vacated over January 2026.”
“The staff in the trading entities will continue to be employed as needed to assist in trading down the group, along with a couple of day-to-day management staff.”
McDonald Vague reported that around $217,000 is owed to ex-employees for wages, holiday pay, and redundancy.
To date, $63,000 has been disbursed to update wage payments, with employees expected to receive full entitlements.
Liquidators indicated Inland Revenue is owed about $940,000 in GST, PAYE, and payroll deductions, though full recovery seems unlikely.
Unsecured creditors are owed at least $2.1 million, excluding landlord contingents, IRD penalties, and interest, and may receive zero cents on the dollar, per liquidators.
Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group said Yoyoso’s woes reflect a major change, with shoppers turning to Temu, AliExpress, or Shein for similar goods. He said Yoyoso maintained a strong physical footprint in central Auckland’s Queen Street until shopper behaviour shifted.
“You need significant volumes to drive business, and it wouldn’t happen; it’s not possible under the new way of buying stuff,” Wilkinson said.