A popular Canberra bakery has collapsed into voluntary administration after it unsuccessfully attempted to expand its operations into Sydney.
Frenchy’s Bread, which trades under the name Autolyse, opened its first Sydney store last July but has been forced to shut the doors just eight months later, appointing administrators Alan Hayes and Christian Sprowles of Hayes Advisory on March 6.
The collapse follows the administration of Melbourne’s popular Vietnamese restaurant MissChu, which also blamed its demise on an unsuccessful Sydney expansion. Pie Face, the franchised pastry chain that once had as many as 78 outlets, was also said to have collapsed due to expanding too quickly.
Alan Hayes this morning confirmed to SmartCompany Autolyse has been trading successfully in Canberra since 2013 and will still continue to trade through the voluntary administration. The bakery is well known for its freshly baked sourdough breads.
“Canberra is still going very well, they’ve had lots of support from their customers,” Hayes says.
Hayes says the company’s interstate expansion was carefully considered after professional advice from leading business consultants.
“They did everything right,” says Hayes.
“It wasn’t…