DUBLIN-BASED Adwalker, which supplied wearable advertising, has been wound up and a liquidator has been appointed to the Ark Retail fashion group.
In June Ark Retail posted notices concerning a series of creditors meetings scheduled for July 10. This was followed by Brian Hyland of Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon being appointed as liquidator.
Ark is owned by Pakistani entrepreneur Kamran Khan, who holds the Irish franchise for German casual wear brand Tom Tailor.
It had been reported earlier that the German group had been moving to have its Irish operations wound up.
Ark Retail Group, headed by Kamran Khan, bought the franchise from the parent company in 2007 when the first store was opened at the Jervis Street Centre in Dublin.
Khan expanded the chain rapidly opening outlets in McDonagh Junction, Kilkenny, Manor Mills shopping centre in Kildare and Johnston Court shopping centre in Sligo, as well as stores in Limerick and Portlaoise.
Kahn’s other retail brands, Mexx and Esprit, are not affected.
Meanwhile, according to InsolvencyJournal.ie, a petition to wind-up Adwalker has been granted.
Adwalker was set up in 2003 by Simon Crisp and Keith Jordan. It supplies wearable media solutions, essentially advertising screens that people wear on their chest and back.
However, by the end of February 2008 the firm had racked up retained losses of €11.6m.
The company, which was quoted on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), had its shares suspended recently.
In 2008, Enterprise Ireland invested €250,000 for a 4.7% stake and this valued the company at €5.3m. However, the company was unable to raise additional funding and it lost a number of contacts as marketing budgets were cut back, according to reports.
The company had offices in Dublin, New York, London and Hong Kong.
