Maria’s Boutique ‘not in trouble’ but …

Businesswoman of the Year Maria Shivute said yesterday that her business – which is known to be more than N$40 000 in debt and is subject to a High Court sale-in-execution order – is not in trouble.

Shivute has owned the business, Maria’s Boutique, for 10 years. When approached by The Namibian, she cited the buzz of activity as evidence of its continued health.”We are not in trouble,” she declared.”No court order has been served on me in terms of which property shall be removed from my business premises, and no communications to that effect were received from out suppliers,” she said in a statement yesterday.Shivute is the 10th Businesswoman of the Year, following such illustrious entrepreneurs as Sara Elago, Lena Markus, Anita Devenish and Dr Christina Swart-Opperman.According to the Chairperson of the Economist Businesswoman Club, which organises the yearly event, Desere Lundun-Muller, there is no way that Shivute’s business could be in trouble.”Financial statements must be handed in for the competition,” she pointed out.”A N$30 000 debt is nothing,” she said, “ask anyone”.As reported previously, Charles Lalla of Lazkam Investments, the South African company that supplies Boutique Maria with its fabrics, has expressed an unwavering determination to recover his money.He said that Shivute had approached him with an arrangement to pay the N$43 446,76 her boutique owes his company.Under that arrangement, Shivute would pay all the lawyers’ costs incurred so far, pay some money towards the settlement of her account and carry on business on a cash-on-delivery basis.Lalla said that he could not make such a decision without first consulting management but said, “without any document, what agreement do we have?” Earlier this week, Shivute said she was busy drafting the letter to the lawyers Lalla required of her.”It is not a matter to say once I am Businesswoman of the Year, it means money will always be there.Things will not always go smooth.If business was an easy thing…,” she said, then everyone would own one.”Even big companies and governments have debt”.Lundun-Muller told The Namibian that the process of choosing the Businesswoman of the Year involved three selection phases.First, businesswomen must be nominated from their own regions.Those nominations come from NCCI regional offices around the country.Then three judges per region consider the nominations and decide who goes forward to the annual gala event.Finally, on the night, a panel of five judges choose the winner from the 10 finalists, having previously completed inspection visits to each of the competing businesses.Former judges are Veronica de Klerk, Carola Werner and Sara Elago.”The same criteria as for the International Entrepreneur of the Year” were used, Lundun-Muller explained.Reports from auditors and bank managers were required from all the businesswoman who take part in the competition.When approached by The Namibian, she cited the buzz of activity as evidence of its continued health. “We are not in trouble,” she declared. “No court order has been served on me in terms of which property shall be removed from my business premises, and no communications to that effect were received from out suppliers,” she said in a statement yesterday. Shivute is the 10th Businesswoman of the Year, following such illustrious entrepreneurs as Sara Elago, Lena Markus, Anita Devenish and Dr Christina Swart-Opperman. According to the Chairperson of the Economist Businesswoman Club, which organises the yearly event, Desere Lundun-Muller, there is no way that Shivute’s business could be in trouble. “Financial statements must be handed in for the competition,” she pointed out. “A N$30 000 debt is nothing,” she said, “ask anyone”. As reported previously, Charles Lalla of Lazkam Investments, the South African company that supplies Boutique Maria with its fabrics, has expressed an unwavering determination to recover his money. He said that Shivute had approached him with an arrangement to pay the N$43 446,76 her boutique owes his company. Under that arrangement, Shivute would pay all the lawyers’ costs incurred so far, pay some money towards the settlement of her account and carry on business on a cash-on-delivery basis. Lalla said that he could not make such a decision without first consulting management but said, “without any document, what agreement do we have?” Earlier this week, Shivute said she was busy drafting the letter to the lawyers Lalla required of her. “It is not a matter to say once I am Businesswoman of the Year, it means money will always be there. Things will not always go smooth. If business was an easy thing…,” she said, then everyone would own one. “Even big companies and governments have debt”. Lundun-Muller told The Namibian that the process of choosing the Businesswoman of the Year involved three selection phases. First, businesswomen must be nominated from their own regions. Those nominations come from NCCI regional offices around the country. Then three judges per region consider the nominations and decide who goes forward to the annual gala event. Finally, on the night, a panel of five judges choose the winner from the 10 finalists, having previously completed inspection visits to each of the competing businesses. Former judges are Veronica de Klerk, Carola Werner and Sara Elago. “The same criteria as for the International Entrepreneur of the Year” were used, Lundun-Muller explained. Reports from auditors and bank managers were required from all the businesswoman who take part in the competition.