Following reports that Naked Communication's New York office is set to close, its Australian parent company Enero Group has confirmed to AdNews that despite some ongoing changes overseas, its sister agency Down Under is not impacted.
Reports surfaced in US publication AgencySpy that after more than 10 years, Naked Communication's New York office will soon close. This follows Virgin Atlantic's decision to axe the agency in November 2016. Virgin was a key client for Naked and represented 7% of net revenue for Enero Group in the year ending 30 June 2016.
Despite the reports, which also suggests that staff have not been paid severance packages and expenses, Enero has said it is not closing the office.
In a statement to AdNews it said: “There have been changes to Naked’s New York client base in recent times and while a number of employees have left the business as a result, the company has and continues to meet all of its contractual obligations to its employees.
“Naked’s local business in Australia continues to perform extremely well and is unaffected by these changes.”
Enero also owns local shops such as BMF, Hotwire PR and market research company The Leading Edge.
In August 2016 Enero reported a boost in group net revenue but its Australasian business saw a revenue drop. Group net revenue for the year ending 30 June increased 2.9% to $113.5 million. Enero's Australasian business saw net revenue fall 13.9% to $46.0 million for the full year ending 30 June 2016, however its operating EBTIDA jumped 1.5% to $6.6 million year on year.
The Australian outpost of the 2000-founded London communications planning hot shop Naked Communications launched in Australia in 2004 with Mike Wilson, Mat Baxter and Adam Ferrier as founding partners. It currently has has an office in Melbourne and Sydney and is headed up by MD Tim Kirby, who has been at the firm since 2010.
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