Bad news, denim junkies of the antipodes: Beloved Australian label Ksubi has gone into receivership.
The youth market staple, founded by George Gorrow and man-about-town Dan Single 13 years ago, has appointed receivers following a financially rough few months. Ksubi’s parent company Bleach (now trading as Mentmore) was placed under voluntary administration just this past August.
The brand’s six stores nationwide will continue to peddle stock while receivers decide the fate of the label.
“While there has been some necessary rationalisation of overheads including staff at head office, the companies are continuing to trade seven retail outlets throughout metropolitan Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, in addition to a popular online retail store,” the firm said in a statement.
But if you’re feeling bummed about the rocky future of your wardrobe’s denim component, spare a thought for the thirty employees at Ksubi’s Rosebery headquarters. With just a week to go before Christmas, they’ve not only lost their jobs but are apparently being denied their final week’s salary and their superannuation.
“A lot of people who have been there for quite a while who have left and are owed a substantial amount of super,” a source at the company told the Daily Telegraph. Nor can they drown their sorrows at the company’s expense, with the staff Christmas party also being abruptly cancelled.
The news follows a string of closures within the local industry. Lisa Ho, Kirrily Johnston and Collette Dinnigan have all recently announced the closing of their doors, though Dinnigan will continue with her diffusion and children’s lines.
Meanwhile, Single still has his new General Pants-parented baby Daan. And affordable fashion fiends will have plenty of options in the way of overseas youth market chains – the continuing prevalence of which has no doubt played a role in all these shutterings.
