‘No information, nothing’: Nick Scali scrambles after cyberattack

Nick Scali, one of Australia's largest furniture retailers, is grappling with the aftermath of a cyberattack that forced the company to shut down its digital systems and left customers in limbo. According to reports from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, the incident occurred around mid-last week and has disrupted order processing and delivery schedules. The company confirmed the breach to the Australian Securities Exchange, stating it was dealing with a “security incident” and working to restore parts of its network. Despite these efforts, operations remain sluggish, and customers are facing delays and a lack of clear communication. Anthony Scali, the company’s chief executive, acknowledged the impact of the attack, describing it as “like everyone else.” While the firm continued to process orders, the recovery proved more challenging than anticipated. Staff are reportedly relying on manual records to reach out to affected customers, and the company’s main website and social media platforms have not provided updates on the outage. Instead, customers must check their “My account” pages to find a brief notice stating that a system outage is ongoing and that recovery efforts are under way. The disruption has caused frustration among customers, including Melbourne resident Bill Bariamis, who ordered a dining table that failed to arrive despite multiple scheduled attempts. Bariamis visited the Frankston store where he purchased the item and found staff apologizing for a “major outage of computers and telephones for the last week.” However, the employees had little more to offer beyond vague explanations. Bariamis described his experience as one of growing impatience, noting that many others across the country are similarly waiting for their purchases, with no updates, no deliveries, and no information. The scale of the outage appears to extend beyond local operations. A customer service representative reached through Nick Scali’s phone line earlier this week claimed the company faced a “nationwide outage” affecting its mainframe. This issue, according to the representative, could take several weeks to resolve, leaving customers unable to contact stores via email or phone and unable to track their orders. The lack of transparency has raised concerns about how well the company is managing the crisis internally. Despite the ongoing challenges, Nick Scali reported a 22.1 percent increase in full-year net profits to $75.7 million, though the financial results omitted any reference to the security incident. This omission has sparked questions about whether the company is prioritizing public relations over addressing the root causes of the disruption. Meanwhile, the company has stated that there is no evidence of unauthorized access to customer data and has referred the matter to the Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre for investigation. As the situation unfolds, the focus remains on restoring normal operations while maintaining trust with customers. With 132 stores worldwide affected, the challenge extends far beyond a single location. Whether the company can recover fully and regain consumer confidence will depend on how effectively it communicates and resolves the underlying issues behind the cyberattack. For now, the message remains consistent: the company is working hard to bring things back online, but progress is slow, and clarity remains elusive.