Myer buys out Charlie Brown
Myer’s empire continues to grow, with the retail giant adding two more Australian fashion labels to its business - Charlie Brown and Howard Showers.
Myer’s empire continues to grow, with the retail giant adding two more Australian fashion labels to its business — Charlie Brown and Howard Showers.
The department store has bought the two brands from Sydney designer Charlie Brown and husband Danny Avidan’s 32-year-old company, The Discovery Group.
Similar to Myer’s $42.5 million purchase of Sass & Bide in 2011, Brown — who founded her eponymous label in 1995 — will remain the creative director of both brands.
Brown told Confidential: “This is a very exciting opportunity to work exclusively with Myer and further strengthen the Charlie Brown and Howard Showers ranges.”
She and Avidan are currently celebrating the deal with a vacation to Israel and Europe.
Myer has refused to disclose the cost of buy-out.
Earlier this year Brown closed her last remaining Sydney boutique stand-alone citing a strong push online as the reason for the scaling back.
This week she closed her online store, telling customers the brand was “undergoing an exciting new transformation” which would be announced today. The sale of the two brands is not surprising following Avidan’s recent move into property development and comments on the poor health of the Australian fashion industry.
“There is no such thing as growth in fashion. It’s a question of how much you can hold on to. The fashion industry is challenging and the property market is thriving,” Avidan told The Australian in August.
Avidan has in recent years scaled back the company, which has experienced ups and downs, including a period of voluntary administration
in 2001.
The cash injection will no doubt be beneficial for Avidan’s real estate vision, with his company RDA Property Group currently developing apartment blocks in Tamarama and Surry Hills.
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