Application lodged to wind up fashion retailer General Pants Co. by Mainfreight Air & Ocean

A debt to a delivery company has seen a high-profile clothing chain - that’s operated for more than 50 years - slapped with court action to liquidate it.

High-profile clothing chain General Pants Co, that’s operated for more than 50 years, has been slapped with court action to liquidate it over a debt to a delivery company.

An ASIC notice published on Friday shows an application to wind up General Pants Co – which has 62 stores nationally – was made by Mainfreight Air & Ocean on June 12.

A hearing for the matter has been set for the Supreme Court of Victoria on July 17 – but it may not be needed.

A statement on behalf of parent company Alquemie Group said the application “has been fully resolved”.

The company did not answer questions about the reasons for the wind-up bid or how it was resolved.

The case was still listed as open in the Victorian court system on Sunday and no documents have been lodged with ASIC for the company since the wind-up application.

General Pants Co has 62 stores across Australia.

It comes as multiple beloved Australia fashion brands falter under pressure from post-Covid tax debt and cost of living pressures.

Gold Coast fashion brand Outland Denim appointed a restructuring practitioner in March after directors realised it was unable to meet $522,933 in debts and was likely to become insolvent.

The company entered a restructuring plan with creditors, which enabled it to settled its debts by paying 20 per cent of what it owed.

Outland had bought failed Sydney brand Nobody Denim for an undisclosed sum late last year.

Designer Dion Lee went into administration in May, with major problems with his New York store and issues with his major backer said to be the reason behind financial issues.

Australian fashion designer Dion Lee in his Shanghai studio ahead of his show in the city. Picture: James Bantone

Other brands to call in administrators include Alice McCall, Ellery, Tigerlily, Arnsdorf and Kirrily Johnson into insolvency.

As well as General Pants Co, Alquemie Group’s stable of retailers includes SurfStitch, Ginger & Smart, Insight, Pumpkin Patch and the Lego and National Geographic stores.

The group is owned by Sydney private equity firm ACTA Capital.

ACTA founder Richard Facioni and its financial controller Felicity Veivers are director and secretary of General Pants Co.

Originally published as Application lodged to wind up fashion retailer General Pants Co. by Mainfreight Air & Ocean