Yahoo Finance Godfreys staff sacked in iconic company’s collapse given $25k lifeline: ‘Owe it to them’
They have a chance to be their own boss and earn thousands of dollars a week if they take up the offer from Jim’s Cleaning founder Haydar Hussein
Almost 200 Australians found out they’d be out of a job when iconic vacuum retailer Godfreys collapsed, but a multi-millionaire’s selfless offer may just save them from the brutal financial blow.
Founder of Jim’s Cleaning Haydar Hussein told Yahoo Finance he was heartbroken when he found out cost-of-living pressures and inflation had pushed the company into voluntary administration, and has made a $4.2 million offer to help the sacked Aussies into their next profession. He will pay for each person to start their own Jim’s Cleaning franchise, which is worth up to $25,000 each.
“I'm willing to give the franchise away for free as long as they pay for the chemicals and the starter stuff,” Haydar said.
All those wanting to take up the offer would need to do is fork out around $4,000 for that starter equipment.
Haydar revealed Jim’s Cleaning had a close relationship with Godfreys and that he feels the offer is coming full circle.
“Our Jim’s Cleaning franchises have been shopping at Godfreys for over 10 years now,” he told Yahoo Finance. “We got our chemicals and vacuums from them, so it's kind of a personal relationship with the staff in the stores.”
“And then I've got a relationship with the management because they visit me all the time.
“But above all that, about six years ago, we developed our own cleaning product, and Godfreys was the first store to put that on their shelves, and they made over $100,000 orders straight up.
“I kind of owe it to them. They were good to me so it's my time to pay back.”
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‘Be your own boss and make up to $5,000 a week’
Jim’s Cleaning has exploded over the past few years, but they’re still having to knock back thousands of jobs because they don’t have enough franchises. He said getting a few dozen sacked Godfreys staff to kickstart their own Jim’s Cleaning franchises in their area will be a massive win-win for both parties.
“I feel for them,” he said. “There's nothing worse than losing your livelihood. They've all got expenses and bills and rents and mortgages to think about. We're here to try and help in some way.”
Hussein said they will be able to be their own boss and can bring in thousands of dollars a week.
“On average, a single operator of Jim's Cleaning franchise earns about $1,500 a week-ish,” he said. “But then there are some who work weekends. We've got staff that can make anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 a week. And then we even have franchisees who have got multiple staff. So they can build something special.”
Everything must go at Godfreys
More than 50 Godfreys stores will close over the coming weeks. There are 171 staff in Australia and 22 in New Zealand who will be unemployed when the doors are shut for good.
Customers have noticed stores are now slashing the prices of ex-demonstration models to get rid of excess stock.
One posted on social media that she saw one location offering 75 per cent off. She urged people to call their local Godfreys to see if they are doing any deals because they don't appear to be advertising the sales.
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