Fashion label Karen Millen collapses with seven stores to close

The Australian arm of UK fashion retailer Karen Millen has entered administration and seven stores will close by the end of September across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

Deloitte Australia was appointed administrator on Wednesday.

Designer and business owner Karen Millen founded the eponymous mid-to-upmarket women's fashion brand in 1981. It was launched in Australia in 2004, the same year Ms Millen sold the company to Icelandic company Mosaic Fashions.

Karen Millen had eight concession stores in Myer and David Jones stores across the country.Credit: Eddie Jim

Last month the London-based company was placed into administration amid a tough retail environment after efforts earlier in the year to sell the business.

Its online operations were bought out of administration by online women's fashion retailer Boohoo for £18 million ($32.1 million),  with the company unable to find a buyer for the entire business.

Deloitte's Tim Norman said the company's local arm turned over about $19 million last financial year and employed 80 workers, many of them casual.

"With the UK business now sold and the label withdrawing from Australia, we expect to wind down the business here and progressively close all stores in the coming weeks," he said.

Mr Norman said shoppers could "expect some bargains" with the store holding a 75 per cent off closing down sale.

Karen Millen operated stores in Melbourne's DFO South Wharf, Emporium, Chadstone and Doncaster; QVB and Chatswood Chase in Sydney and Burnside Village in Adelaide. It also had eight concession stores within David Jones and Myer across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Customers who hold Karen Millen gift cards or are members of its loyalty program will have their benefits honoured, the administrators said.

This is the latest in a string of high-profile fashion brand collapses in Australia's "recessionary" retail environment, with Ed Harry, Roger David and Laura Ashley going under in the past 12 months.