The Tipping Point: The woman behind a retail business that kitted out the Hilton hotel

Friday, 6 March 2026

Hundreds of failed businesses shut their doors every year - but behind every closure are owners who had lofty dreams and ambitions. The Tipping Point tells their stories

Brazilian expat Erika Brabyn says she was her business, and the business was her. But when things went derailed and sales declined with no end, she had to let go of the business - and reinvent herself.

The founder of Braziwi, which first launched in 2016 as a retail brand that aimed to “bring the best of Brazil to New Zealand”, selling goods such as sheets and soft furnishings , began as a wholesaler and then a retailer, and opened shops in St Heliers and Remuera.

Like is the case with many businesses, when the pandemic came along, it sent sales surging, but a year later the toll of no demand knocked the wind out of Braziwi’s sails.

“When everything opened again, homewares were in paradise with sales, sales, sales, all the time. That was also the time when I moved to Remuera. At the time I started that transaction, the business was very healthy. But after that it was the start of nothing good,” Brabyn recalls.

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“I tried my best for everything, but one side of my heart always said ‘You don't want to be where you are anyway, because you wanted to have only fabrics.’ Sales were down because everybody wanted to hold off because they wanted to know what will happen next.”

After months of ongoing struggles and sales at an all-time low, and no longer able to pay her bills, Brabyn says she was forced to place Braziwi into voluntary liquidation in February 2025.

“I had tried every option available to me, and I reached the point where continuing was causing more damage emotionally and financially. So unfortunately, I stepped back, and it was a responsible decision because it allowed me to stop bleeding for a start, take a pause and reassess to see if there was a healthier way forward.”

Stuck in the retail rut; Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, Brabyn says after moving on from the retail shops over seven and a half years, she can now see the change was for the better for her own wellbeing.

Brabyn spent months at home in Kohimarama processing the closure. She says she was “totally lost” and took a break from working, and leaned on regular meditation to help her cope.

She also spent seven months “quietly rebuilding” a spinoff business, Braziwi by Erika Brabyn, which she launched in September, selling only Brazilian fabrics, working with her previous suppliers, to turn the prints into custom-made cushions, bean bags and scarves.

She now operates from home and takes custom orders, and says business is going well and she is working on a couple of projects, including with a retirement village operator.

“This is how I wanted it to be”, she says of the business in its new lean arrangement.

The first version of the business worked with the Hilton hotel on three separate projects, including two for the Hilton in Lake Taupo and another the Hilton Auckland. It created bean bags and cushions for the pool area and furniture.

“I don't have any desire to have a retail shop [again]. I could be happy one day with a very little studio.

“Today, I lean into listening more to myself and to trusting the process. I let it go that very heavier things, the challenging things, the dark times, and now I feel totally lighter,” says Brabyn, a year after her first business ended.

She says she would like to see more people open up about the human impact of a business going into liquidation or administration, and how that impacts the people behind the brand.

She knows personally it is much deeper than no longer making sales.

“I found the situation myself very challenging. I felt a lot of stress in the silence. I questioned my identity, the business and how I ran it.

“I didn't have any more power for fighting, so I decided to let it go. Letting go of control was difficult.”

One of the hardest parts was letting her three staff go, she says. “My manager, I had to have a conversation with and I said ‘Unfortunately, I can't pay you … and I have to let you go, that was so tough.

“We agreed she would stay until she found a new job, and thank God she's so good that she found one very quickly. My other girl was amazing, she was working with me part time, and on heavy days she would say ‘Erica, I know we haven’t made much sales this week, are you sure you need me tomorrow?’ I felt very grateful for that,” she recalls.

But she’s very clear about the experience.

“Despite everything that happened, I don't see the liquidation as a failure, but rather a lesson. A lesson that forced me to focus, and gave me clarity. It was painful, but I believe it was necessary for my evolution.”