After 75 years, Roger David joins growing list of retail casualties
THE fight for survival in the nation’s rapidly changing retail sector has felled another legacy brand as Roger David collapses after more than 75 years in business.
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THE fight for survival in the nation’s rapidly changing retail sector has felled another legacy brand as Roger David collapses after more than 75 years in business.
The Melbourne-based menswear chain — founded in 1942 by a Polish immigrant tailor — has launched a fire sale as it works to clear stock and wind up its operations.
About 300 jobs will be lost as 57 stores, including 17 in Victoria, close.
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Roger David on Thursday issued a statement saying the decision to place the business into voluntary administration marked “a sad day” for the company and Australian retail.
“Despite the directors’ best efforts with the business, it simply could not compete with the influx of multinational retailers and the rapid, global evolution of online shopping,” it said.
“Roger David grew into the third-largest specialty menswear chain in Australia and the directors are incredibly proud of what has been achieved over the last 76 years.”
A slew of the nation’s best-known fashion brands have run into trouble as they confront highly successful international retailers, the rise of online shopping, high rents and changing fashion tastes.
Esprit, Marcs, David Lawrence, Pumpkin Patch, Payless Shoes, Herringbone, Rhodes & Beckett, Oroton, Katies, Millers and Rivers have either collapsed or undergone restructures over the past two years.
Department store chains Myer and David Jones are struggling, while fast-fashion invaders Zara, Uniqlo and Hennes and Mauritz trading as H&M are pulling in more than $800 million in combined annual sales, having only arrived this decade.
Retail Doctor Group founder Brian Walker said Roger David had lost its unique customer proposition by selling largely undifferentiated product in the crowded mid-market retail sector.
“There are a lot of examples recently of retailers stuck in the middle,” Mr Walker told Business Daily.
“To be fit in retail these days you really have to stand for something. Ideally you’ve got to be a little bit hard to compete with and you’ve got to build a reasonably loyal community around you.
“They couldn’t change or innovate. It’s sad for everyone at the company.” Mr Walker said while the collapse of historically successful brands cast a pall over the sector, the success of Australian labels such as Lorna Jane and Smiggle showed it was not all doom and gloom.
“There are many brands out there easily delivering double-digit numbers and performing above expectations in both physical retail and online,” Mr Walker said.
Business advisory firm KordaMentha has been appointed voluntary administrator of Roger David.
The chain is expected to trade through Christmas — the busiest time of the year for retailers — but has launched a closing-down sale aimed at raising as much money as possible for employees and other creditors.
“The company has been exploring all options, including a sale of the business, but has been unable to find an alternative to administration,” administrator Craig Shepard said.
Gift cards would be honoured in full for one month while the timing of store closures was yet to be decided, he said.
Roger David was founded by immigrant Polish tailor Kalman Rogoziniski, also known as Kalman Rogers.
At its peak the it had more than 100 stores. The impending job losses at Roger David came as an 11th-hour deal appeared to have rescued the Max Brenner chocolate and cafe chain.
Liquidator BDO Australia on Thursday announced investment fund Tozer & Co, backed by the chief executive of chicken chain Oporto, would take over the cafe chain’s Australian licence.
It had appeared Max Brenner would disappear in Australia after the New York-headquartered company terminated the former franchise’s licence.
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