Jeanswest to hold sale of $20 million worth of stock after company’s collapse

Jeanswest will hold a sale of more than 350,000 items of stock from today after the 1990s denim staple went into voluntary administration.

Jeanswest will hold a sale of more than $20 million worth of stock from today after the ’90s denim staple went into voluntary administration.

Last Wednesday, the company behind the iconic fashion brand called in administrators – for the second time since 2020 – to wind up its 90 bricks-and-mortar stores, with 600 jobs set to go as it pivots to online-only trade.

The price of more than 350,000 items – 138,000 pairs of jeans among them – has now been slashed.

“There will be storewide discounts to shift the stock, which includes 77,000 units of new pieces of clothing and footwear that were ordered before the company entered administration and have only just arrived in warehouses,” administrator Lindsay Bainbridge said.

“Everything is reduced and sales will apply both at retail stores and online. All sales will be final during the closing event.”

Jeanswest will hold a sale of more than $20 million worth of stock from today. Picture: NewsWire/Simon Bullard

The purpose of the sale, Mr Bainbridge continued, “is to clear the stock, maximise returns for creditors and get the business ready to be structured as an online operation”.

“We have spoken to all staff and will continue to operate all stores at this stage while we run out of the stock,” he said.

Mr Bainbridge said Jeanswest had fought for five years to revive the 53-year-old brand but had concluded it was time to step back from physical stores to focus on online retail.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

The liquidation comes on the heels of Ally Fashion being ordered into liquidation in February, costing 250 jobs, and follows last year’s collapse of Mosaic brands, which led to more than 3000 job losses across stores including Katies, Millers, Rockmans and Rivers.

The brand will pivot from bricks-and-mortar stores to solely online trade. Picture: NewsWire/Simon Bullard

QUT marketing expert Professor Gary Mortimer said the “nostalgic” factor could not save the brand.

“I remember growing up in the ’80s and ’90s and shopping at (Jeanswest when it was called) Eagle Jeans,” Professor Mortimer said.

“The issue with nostalgia of course is people who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s are now in their 50s and 60s and aren’t buying that product any longer, and the new generations are shopping elsewhere.”

Prof Mortimer said Jeanswest had been hit by a “combination of factors” including a crowded market and the cost-of-living crisis.

“It’s the perfect storm,” he said.

“Older, mid-tier fashion brands don’t really have a point of difference between them. I can buy men’s chinos in about five different retailers including the discount department stores. It’s an increasingly competitive market where you’ve got 10 to 20 of these same types of stores in every shopping centre.”

A first meeting of creditors will be held virtually on April 4.

Originally published as Jeanswest to hold sale of $20 million worth of stock after company’s collapse