Inside lavish life of Jeanswest founder Alister Norwood
Alister Norwood was once Australia’s denim king, a millionaire playboy known for his lavish parties and A-list mates. Then, he was barely heard from.
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For years on end, Alister Norwood was Australia’s denim king – the larger-than-life multi-millionaire playboy behind fashion empire Jeanswest.
It began with a single, simple store on Perth’s Barrack Street which opened nearly half a century ago in 1972.
But soon it expanded across the country, with the label becoming an Aussie fashion staple.
Mr Norwood emerged as a famous Perth personality, known for hosting lavish parties at his mansion and rubbing shoulders with A-listers including Rod Stewart, according to persistent rumours.
He sold his jeans chain in 1990, and went on to found the ill-fated lingerie company NoRegrets.
It went bust in 2005, and Mr Norwood – who was once a fixture of Perth’s glamorous social scene – all but disappeared.
But yesterday, news broke that Mr Norwood’s “baby” Jeanswest had collapsed, with KPMG appointed as voluntary administrators.
The shock news prompted the founder to issue a rare public statement to Perth radio station 6PR.
He expressed his sadness over the retailer’s potential demise, and reminisced about the brand’s launch in the early 70s, a time when a pair of Levi’s would set you back just $11.95.
He revealed he was “unaware the Australian business had been privatised out of a Hong Kong public company in 2017”, and shared his opinions on where it had all gone wrong.
“In recent years Jeanswest obviously lost marketing direction,” he said in the statement, adding it “was not attractive to its core customer base”, “sold a very wide range of clothing including kidswear and maternity wear” which was “far too broad” and that is showed “no fashion leadership”.
“I hope the company can be restructured and go on,” Mr Norwood said.
WHO IS ALISTER NORWOOD?
Mr Norwood was born in Belfast in Northern Ireland but moved to Australia with his family as a child.
He opened the first Jeanswest store in Perth in the early 1970s and as jeans exploded in popularity, so did his label.
It quickly expanded across Australia and today it employs 988 people in 146 stores across the country.
As Jeanswest’s star continued to rise, so did Mr Norwood’s – along with his wealth.
When he snapped up a swanky mansion in Perth’s up-market Jutland Parade from entrepreneur Michael Edgley, for example, it was thought to be the priciest private real estate deal in the state’s history.
The address would become the setting of many legendary parties during the 1980s, one of which was rumoured to have been attended by rocker Rod Stewart, before it was sold at the end of the decade, according to the West Australian.
He ended up selling Jeanswest in the early 1990s and stayed out of the limelight for a number of years before reappearing with the launch of his lingerie company NoRegrets in 1997.
At the time, he told the Australian Financial Review it was based on America’s Victoria Secret lingerie chain with the goal of opening 140 shops nationwide within four years.
But by 2005 it had flopped, and again Mr Norwood disappeared from the public eye, going on to work as a retail consultant.
JEANSWEST’S DOWNFALL
Mr Norwood pulled out of Jeanswest after suppliers such as Levi Strauss stopped making deliveries due to debt.
In 1994 it was taken over by a Hong Kong firm called Glorious Sun, which expanded the brand into the Chinese market as well as Vietnam, Russia, Fiji and Venezuela.
It was also the year model Chloe Maxwell became the face of the company, and the famous “Jeanswest fits best” slogan was first heard.
In 1996 it opened in New Zealand followed by the Middle East in 2007.
In 2017, the Australian branch of Jeanswest was bought by another company, Howsea Limited.
And yesterday, it was revealed KPMG’s Peter Gothard and James Stewart had been appointed as voluntary administrators and that the business was seeking to “restructure”.
While the overseas arms of the chain won’t be affected, the collapse has left 988 jobs at 146 stores across the country at risk.
Mr Gothard said Jeanswest will “continue to operate while the administrators conduct an urgent analysis of the business”.
“The administrators will be looking at all options for the restructure or sale of this established Australian retail business and are seeking urgent expressions of interest from parties interested in acquiring or investing in the business,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Stewart blamed the collapse on “current tough market conditions and pressure from online competition”.
The first meeting of creditors of the company will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday, January 28.
Originally published as Inside lavish life of Jeanswest founder Alister Norwood