Barbizon Lighting Australia ceases trading

Barbizon Australia, Sydney-based distributor of leading lighting brands including ARRI, OSRAM, Matthews, LiteGear, Altman, BB&S, and Outsight (Creamsource), has ceased trading. Attempts to secure comment or explanation from Barbizon Australia before this piece was published on the morning of 20 November were unsuccessful, with Accounting Manager Esther Klein stating in an email that “I have forwarded your email enquiry to the owners of the business in the USA.  They have not approved for the story to be run at this time.”

The circumstances that have led to this situation are unclear, as is how this relates to the operations of their American parent company.

The closure of Barbizon Australia comes during a period of remarkable consolidation in the Australasian professional lighting distribution space, with Philips (Selecon/Varlite) and Highlight Europe reducing presence, the merger of TLC with ShowTools, and major brands including Elation changing distributors. More and more brands and products are being held by fewer companies.

Barbizon Australia had been in operation since 2009, while Barbizon Lighting has operated out of its New York headquarters since 1947, with offices based around the USA, Europe, India, and Australia.