Almost of half of the country’s Darrell Lea stores have had to close their doors as a result of the company entering into administration in July.

Administrator Mark Robinson, from PPB Advisory, told The Australian that 32 stores have to had close in order to make the sale of the business more appealing.

"The ones that were shut were unprofitable and we didn't have any indication from interested parties that they wished to take those stores on," he said.

As a result of this, 167 casual staff, 16 part-time employees and 15 full-time employees were made redundant.

According to The Australian’s report, there are up to eight potential buyers for the businesses at this stage.