More than 90 Jeanswest stores are set to shut after the company behind the fashion brand collapsed, putting hundreds of retail worker jobs in jeopardy.
Administrators were called into Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd on Wednesday, about five years after it rescued the ailing 53-year-old brand in 2020.
"The owners have done everything they can to keep Jeanswest going, but market conditions mean sustaining bricks-and-mortar stores is not viable and unlikely to improve," said Lindsay Bainbridge, a partner at receiver Pitcher Partners.
"They deeply regret the impact of store closures on their team members and their customers and we will be working now with teams across the country."
Jeanswest operates from more than 90 locations in Australia and employs more than 600 staff.
All its outlets are expected to close, but the brand and online store might continue to operate if the business can be restructured.
Tough trading conditions, fuelled by the cost-of-living crisis and a fall in consumer spending, have been blamed for the collapse.
It follows similar battles for other big retail chains which have cost thousands of jobs in the beleaguered sector.
Mr Bainbridge said he expected all store stock to go on immediate sale as administrators restructured the business.
"We will be opening the doors of all stores and selling online to clear all stock to secure a return to creditors," he said.
Australian Retailers Association said a slowdown in consumer spending and rising business costs had left many retailers extremely vulnerable.
"We are deeply saddened to hear Jeanswest will close its bricks and mortar stores," chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said.
"This decision affects hundreds of retail workers and our thoughts are with all team members at this difficult time."
The association has called for federal and state government support to bolster the retail sector, which it said employed 1.4 million people and contributed almost 20 per cent of the national gross domestic product.
More than 3000 workers were to lose their jobs when Mosaic Brands Group, the company behind Millers, Noni B, Katies, Rivers and others, went into voluntary administration in October, announcing all its brands and stores would close by mid-April.
The group had 763 stores and employed about 3000 people in Australia and New Zealand.
It collapsed owing creditors $249 million.
