After 11 years, Cocco Corp owner and founder, Nigel Treliving, has decided to sell his business. After falling ill last year and not bouncing back as quickly as he had hoped, and with no one [in the family] to take over the business, he decided this was the right time to bow out.
“The industry is going through a transformation and everything is changing,” he says. Cocco Corp is quite a unique business and while we have had enquiries, the current challenging environment means there are far less buyers than when the economy is good, so it will take time.”
Competition is fierce with grocery chains like Coles and Woolworths now also offering body care products at lower prices, however, the export business has been good for Treliving, even though he hasn’t been able to travel overseas.
Cocco Corp’s main brand is Maine Beach, which only recently branched out into hair care products.
“We were asked by so many clients to introduce hair care products to the Maine Beach range. This really is a reflection of how hair care has been seamlessly added into the beauty and health routines in markets all over the world,” he said earlier this year.
Treliving has also bought back his brand Trelivings and he is launching a new skin and body care range in November.
“This collection will sit at a lower price point than Maine Beach as we are aiming for a different market to for example Myer and David Jones. We are looking more at pharmacies, especially with so many retailers having closed their doors in recent times.”
Accru Harris Orchard has been appointed to lead the sale which includes a commercial office and warehouse with a mezzanine area in McLaren Flat, South Australia, which was completed in 2017; a commercial rental property which currently has a long-term tenant until August 2022; and a residential property.
“The new owner will have at least two years of work already done for him when it comes to our products, with new lines in the pipeline for Maine Beach which have already been designed,” says Treliving, who has been part of the gift and homewares industry for more than 40 years.
“Once the business is sold I’m happy to stay on for as long is needed. I have a house in Adelaide and I’m building a house on Kangaroo Island, so once I retire I will be spending my time between the two places, enjoying life as well as a glass (or two) of wine.”
