Major Aussie fashion brand collapses

Another retailer with stores across Australia has gone under and more than 1000 jobs are impacted.

Australia’s retail industry has been hit by another blow with major chain Ally Fashion collapsing and up to 185 stores across Australia impacted.

It is understood the fashion chain has more than 1000 staff.

News.com.au can reveal that the retailer was ordered to be wound up by the Federal Court of Australia on Friday due to insolvency.

Ally Fashion is an Australian-owned retailer that was launched in 2001, which is “dedicated to creating contemporary ready-to-wear pieces for every woman”.

“With over 50 new styles arriving per week, Ally Fashion is well in demand and the destination for women who can transcend the fashion’s boundaries – defying the trends and creating her own,” it said on LinkedIn.

Major Aussie fashion brand collapses due to insolvency. Picture: Instagram

It had launched a curvy brand a number of years ago called You & All, as well as a maternity and childrenswear range called Mummy and Me. It also dabbled in menswear three years ago.

Ally Fashion has stores across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Just six days ago it had posted on LinkedIn announcing it was hiring for roles such as store managers and sales assistants.

An Ally Fashion store. Picture: News Regional Media

But now Jeff Marsden and Duncan Clubb from BDO Sydney have been appointed as liquidators of Ally Fashion.

Federal Court orders show a commercial property group specialising in retail shopping centres launched the winding up proceedings with a number of other creditors supporting the application.

News.com.au has reached out to BDO Sydney for comment.

It comes at a time when the Australian fashion industry has taken an absolute battering with a number of high profile retailers collapsing amid the cost of living crisis.

Mosaic Brands, which boasted iconic brands like Autograph, Noni B, Katies, Millers and Rivers, fell into liquidation and could not find a buyer with hundreds of stores closed as a result.

Customers shopping at the Ally Fashion store in better times. Picture: News Regional Media

News.com.au also broke the news last year that after nearly 40 years of operation Australian luxury fashion brand Harrolds had gone into liquidation blaming a combination of reduced luxury spending, decreased foot traffic, unprecedentedly high levels of CBD office vacancies and extremely unfavourable government policies.

Prestige Australian fashion brand Dion Lion also failed, despite dressing the likes of A-list celebrities like Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa and had grown to have six stores in Australia and 160 outlets globally

Queensland University of Technology Business School retail expert Professor Gary Mortimer told news.com.au that it was evident discretionary spending by Aussies has been reduced as a result of the cost of living crisis.

“Those categories of fashion, footwear and accessories are highly exposed to discretionary spending and it’s challenging. We saw over the last six months Mosaic Brands wind up their brands,” he said.

“I think that the concerning part of all this is the job losses and if we went and totalled it up … it’s thousands of jobs … and families out there with no jobs are also still facing the cost of living crisis.

“For Mosiac Brand’s Rivers, it was 650 jobs and Katies was 500 jobs, so we are talking about a couple of thousand of people and that will have an impact on household spending – it is a circular problem.”

The brand had more than 100 stores across Australia. Picture: Instagram

Mosaic operated 666 retail and online clothing stores nationwide under brand names Millers, Noni B, Rivers, Katies, Autograph, Crossroads, W.Lane and Beme.

It was revealed more than 2800 staff that worked across the business’ Australian and New Zealand stores are owed $22 million.

Mosaic’s total debt seems to have been finally tallied at more than $318 million.

Originally published as Major Aussie fashion brand collapses