Kaisercraft Feels Effects of Australian Floods

Leading Australian manufacturer Kaisercraft is feeling the effects of the massive floods that are currently devastating the state of Queensland.

Although the company's offices are based in Victoria, they have two factory outlet stores in Queensland areas that are affected by flooding. Kaisercraft's outlet stores do not sell current product lines. Instead the outlets sell outdated product stock, samples, and seconds. Proceeds from the sales of the samples and seconds go to support children's charities overseas, including kindergartens in Fiji and children's homes in Sri Lanka and the Phillipines.

One of the Queensland outlets is located in Toowoomba, the town that had an "inland tsunami" go through it, flooding the whole town of 130,000 people in only a matter of minutes. Kaisercraft's media representative, Alison Wood, tells Scrapbook Update that the store in Toowoomba is closed because the whole town is flooded and she reports that unfortunately the outlet has water trickling in the door.

Kaisercraft's other Queensland outlet is in Browns Plain. That outlet is also currently closed, according to Wood, because closed roads are making the store inaccessible to staff.

The company hopes to reopen the outlet stores sometime next week, depending on the safety of local road conditionss.

Each of the outlet stores has four staff members. Wood told Scrapbook Update that unfortunately at least some of their staff members have experienced varying amounts of personal property damage in the flooding.

Kaisercraft will be exhibiting at the Craft & Hobby Association show in Los Angeles at the end of the month in booth #3014. Sneak peeks have not yet been shown of the company's new products.