Jeanswest store closures: Jobs to go as 37 shops shut down

The full fallout of the Jeanswest collapse has been revealed, with hundreds of jobs to go and dozens of stores to close their doors. Here’s the full list of stores that will shut.

Scores of Jeanswest stores are shutting down.

More than 260 workers will lose their jobs as 37 Jeanswest shops are shut down, administrators of the youth fashion chain have announced.

KPMG partners Peter Gothard and James Stewart today announced they had started the process of restructuring Jeanswest, which was put in voluntary administration last week.

The retailer has 146 stores nationally, meaning about one in four is to close. Of the 37 shops closing, nine are in Victoria.

There are 11 stores closing in New South Wales, seven in Queensland, six in Western Australia, three in South Australia and one is in Tasmania.

The closures will ratchet up the pressure on companies such as Scentre Group, which owns Westfield centres, and Stockland amid warnings that the trading environment for shopping centres is proving increasingly difficult.

The Jeanswest store at Gateway Plaza shopping centre, at Leopold, east of Geelong, is among stores that have been spared the axe.

Administrators are trying to find a buyer for Jeanswest, which opened its first store in Perth almost 50 years ago and is now based in Melbourne.

Mr Stewart said they would look to redeploy staff where possible, but administrators expect 263 jobs will go, cutting Jeanswest’s workforce from 988 to 725.

The nine Victorian stores that will close are at Doncaster, Eastlands, Echuca, Forest Hill, Karingal, Rosebud, Southland, The District Docklands and Watergardens.

Jeanswest will still have 23 stores in Victoria following the closures.

In a statement, Mr Stewart said the decision to “proactively restructure the business early in the administration process has not been taken lightly”.

“We are very mindful of the serious impact store closures and staff redundancies have on people’s lives,” he said.

“However, we must also work to maximise the opportunity for this business to be sold or restructured, to give it the best chance to continue.”

Harris Scarfe is among other retailers that have announced store closures in recent weeks. Picture: AAP

Jeanswest is owned by Howsea, a private company based in Hong Kong. The first meeting of Jeanswest’s creditors is scheduled for Tuesday next week.

A string of prominent retail chains have collapsed into administration or announced major restructures in recent weeks as difficult trading conditions buffet the industry.

Among them, Harris Scarfe is closing 21 stores — about one in three — Bardot is closing 58 shops, EB Games is closing 19, and Curious Planet, previously trading as Australian Geographic, is closing all 63 of its outlets.

Separately this week, German grocery titan Kaufland announced it was withdrawing from the Australian market before opening its first store here.

The retailer had invested more than $500 million in its Australian business, planned to open more than 20 Australian stores and started work on a major distribution centre in northern Melbourne.

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JEANSWEST STORES CLOSING

Victoria

Doncaster

Eastlands

Echuca

Forest Hill

Karingal

Rosebud

Southland

The District Docklands

Watergardens

New South Wales

Blacktown

Castle Towers

Charlestown

East Gardens

Kotara

Macarthur

Marinda

Shell Harbour

Singleton

Tweed City

Wetherill

Queensland

Burleigh

Castletown

Chermside

Earlville

Lismore

Maroochydore

Myer Centre (Brisbane)

Western Australia

Carousel

Centrepoint

Karrinyup

Mandurah

Mirabooka

Rockingham

South Australia

Castle Plaza

Marion

West Lakes

Tasmania

Hobart City

Originally published as Jeanswest store closures: Jobs to go as 37 shops shut down