• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 9, 2015

Droga5, the New York-based agency founded by David Droga confirmed today that it is shuttering its Sydney, Australia office, which was opened in 2008. The agency said the office would wind down and close before the end of the year.

Droga, Creative Chairman and Founder—and a native Australian--stated that the move was both a difficult decision and a “bitter pill to swallow. However we see little value in continuing to operate  in this market with an office that, sadly, no longer consistently represents the Drog5 brand.”

Droga added that despite a talented staff, the office had “floundered over the past few years. Some of it self-inflicted, some of it bad luck and some of it just the befuddling local advertising market.”

The Sydney office closing will leave the agency with its New York and struggling London operations. The agency is taking steps to beef up the London outpost—it recently hired Bill Scott from Grey as new CEO (replacing Kevin Dundras who left last fall) and indicated that additional creative hires will be announced in the coming weeks.

Scott joined in July, around the time that agency co-founder Andrew Essex departed the agency. Essex had been CEO of the agency until 2013 when he was succeeded by Sarah Thompson. It was in July of that year that Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor bought 49% of Droga5 for $225 million.

Agency CEO Thompson said, “We continue to realize strong growth in the U.S., and are focusing on creating a world class leadership team in Europe while simultaneously exploring potential models of offerings in China as our two key priorities outside the U.S.”

Separately, vitamin supplement marketer NBTY confirmed today that it has appointed Droga5 as its new strategic and creative advertising agency partner. New work from the agency will appear in 2016. The client’s brands include Nature’s Bounty and Osteo Bi-Flex.