Retail chain Colette enters voluntary administration
Accessory and jewellery brand Colette has been forced into voluntary administration as it becomes the latest victim of Australia’s difficult retail climate.
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Another Australian brand has fallen on its sword with accessory brand Colette by Colette Hayman entering voluntary administration late last month.
Deloitte Restructuring Services partners Vaughan Strawbridge, Sam Marsden and Jason Tracy have been appointed administrators over the business.
In a statement released this morning, Mr Strawbridge said Australia’s difficult retail conditions were largely to blame.
Staff will continue to be paid despite the disappointing news, and customers will still have any existing gift cards honoured.
“Given the strength of the brand we are confident we will be able to secure a future for the business and preserve the employment of as many people as possible,” Mr Strawbridge said in the statement.
He also said there are enough existing assets to meet the entitlements of employees.
Colette was founded in Australia in 2010. The brand operates across 140 stores in Australia and in New Zealand as a one-stop shop for bags, jewellery and accessories.
The business employs over 300 permanent staff, plus casuals, with annual gross sales of over $140 million.
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The collapse of Colette comes shortly after women’s fashion retailer Bardot was forced into voluntary administration in November last year.
Earlier this month it announced 58 stores across Australia would shut down by March with more than 500 jobs expected to be lost.
The list of Australian retailers who have met the same fate as Colette is becoming a long one, and includes once big brands like Harris Scarfe, Jeanswest and EB Games.
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On job site indeed.com, Colette employees as recently as January this year wrote how much they enjoyed working for the chain.
People were quick to express disappointment at another Aussie retailer biting the dust, but this was met with an equal lack of surprise.
Nobody from Colette has made a statement yet.