Jeanswest closures at Westfield Doncaster, Eastland and Forest Hill disappoint staff
Three eastern suburbs shopping centres will lose their Jeanswest outlets after administrators took over the business last week. Find out how many jobs will be lost.
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Staff are disappointed but not surprised at the pending closure of three eastern suburbs Jeanswest outlets, an employee at the Westfield Doncaster store says.
The shops at Westfield, Eastland and Forest Hill Chase are among 37 to be closed by the Australian clothing giant, with 260 workers to lose their jobs.
The staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said it reflected the climate in the industry.
“There’s lots of pressure on all retailers, it’s not just Jeanswest that’s in trouble,” she said.
“Of course we’re all disappointed but that’s retail. All we know is we’re closing and it’s just sad for everyone.”
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.
The closures will ratchet up the pressure on companies such as Scentre Group, which owns Westfield centres, and Stockland, amid warnings the trading environment for shopping centres is proving increasingly difficult.
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.
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.
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“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.”
Jeanswest is owned by Howsea, a private company based in Hong Kong. The first meeting of Jeanswest’s creditors is scheduled for Tuesday.