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Womenswear line Katies will be discontinued while dozens of Millers, Rivers and Noni B stores will close as struggling Australian fashion retailer Mosaic Brands undergoes a “consolidation program” that will cost hundreds of employees their jobs.
A line will be drawn through Katies as a brand and the blinds will be down in all 80 stores by mid-January, it was revealed on Tuesday.
A further 80 Millers, Rivers and Noni B stores will close over the same period.
The widespread redundancies will affect around 480 employees across all clothing brands.
Receivers and administrators KPMG, which was appointed to work alongside administrators FTI Consulting after Mosaic went into administration in October, said the decision was made following a review of Katies and the wider store network, which identified stores that “do lost”.
“The trustees and managers would like to thank all employees, particularly those whose terms are coming to an end, for their commitment and support throughout the insolvency process,” KPMG said in a statement.
Mosaic Brands operated about 700 stores nationwide.
The company entered voluntary administration in October, reportedly owing creditors $249 million.
This development came about a month after it announced it was shutting down Rockmans, Autograph, W.Lane, Crossroads and BeMe businesses.
This decision means the closure of 231 stores.
At the time, Mosaic CEO Erica Berchtold said the move to “streamline the brand portfolio” would simplify the business and allow it to focus on “core growth brands” — Millers, Noni B, Rivers, Katies and its standalone online marketplace Mosaic.
Katies will now be closed for good and Millers, Rivers and Noni B will be operated with a smaller cross-country footprint.
“The decision to undertake the store consolidation program was not taken lightly,” KPMG said on Tuesday.
“Since the date of appointment, the receivers and managers have stabilized operations, continuing to trade the group’s businesses, while engaging with suppliers to release stock for the key trading periods of Black Friday and Christmas.”
KMPG said the store closings will not affect the sale of Mosaic Brands Group.
“Following the submission of non-binding indicative offers at the end of November, the selected parties undertook due diligence on the group,” KPMG said.
“Due to ongoing due diligence and discussions with interested parties, FTI Consulting has notified the parties that the deadline for binding offers has been extended to the end of December 2024.”
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