the spin starts...

the spin starts
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Excitement dies down at Big Kev's
By Scott RochfortSydneywww.theage.com.au
December 7, 2004


Three weeks after the resignation of Big Kev's excitable founder, Kevin McQuay, the troubles continued at the stain-removing company yesterday after it warned it was headed for another hefty first-half loss.

Faced with the prospect of Woolworths and Coles no longer stocking Big Kev's Goo Remover next year, the company issued a statement saying it was "discouraged" by a recent investigation into the saleability of its stock.

Big Kev's shares fell 4.5¢ to 15.5¢, after the company warned it was headed for a first-half loss "in the order of $750,000".

But despite the bleak assessment, the new chair and self-dubbed saviour of the cleaning group, Bruce Judge, boasted Big Kev's had already turned its first-ever profit at its retail outlet at Brisbane's Logan City Hyperdome last weekend.

Helped by a cut-price sale of three full warehouses of ageing Big Kev's stock, Mr Judge said the shop took $6500 over the weekend, compared with the usual $300.

"The cash register's jammed because it's never been used so much," he said.

"For the first time ever Big Kev's is not making losses."

Mr Judge said it would be more economical for Big Kev's to offload the stock at heavily discounted bargains than disposing of it at rubbish dumps.

"A lot of stuff has been there for three years and you can imagine the cost of pallet hire and cost of (storing) the stock," he said.

Mr Judge, who once presided over the biggest-ever corporate loss ($640 million) in Australian history with Ariadne in 1988, said Big Kev's could no longer rely on cleaning products alone.

The company statement also said that $291,121 had been paid in directors' fees in the first half.



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