A group of Asian supermarkets and retail stores – Acecco, Miniso, and Yoyoso – have been placed into liquidation with their operator owing more than $6 million.

According to a notice published on the New Zealand Gazette on Monday, ANCZ Limited (formerly Yoyoso NZ Limited) was placed in receivership and liquidation on December 17. Some 23 related companies were also put in liquidation by the receivers of the parent company on December 22.

The group of companies are led by Auckland-based director Lin Liu. They include entities that run the Acecco, Miniso, and Yoyoso locations, mostly in Auckland.

Yoyoso sells Korean-style fast fashion and home and lifestyle goods. Acecco sells Asian groceries and culinary items, while Miniso offers lifestyle products.

Several licensed insolvency practitioners from McDonald Vague were appointed as liquidators of the companies.

BusinessDesk cited a report from McDonald Vague that the companies owe $2.9 million to China Construction Bank, at least $2.1 million to unsecured creditors, and $940,000 to the Inland Revenue Department.

The liquidators also estimate that the firm owes $217,000 to former employees in terms of wages, holiday pay and redundancy pay. 

“We estimate that unsecured creditors may receive 0 per cent in the dollar,” the report reads.

Among the retail locations operated by ANCZ and its subsidiaries, only eight were still trading at the time of liquidation.

The liquidators have closed the Northcote Accecco supermarket due to a lack of trading revenue, but continued to trade the Mt Albert location. The Yoyoso and Miniso stores remain open to reduce stock levels at each store.

The liquidators expect most locations to close by the end of this month.