This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
RETAIL property landlords face further vacancy problems with British fashion retailer Karen Millen closing its Australian stores after administrators were appointed.
Deloitte partners Richard Hughes, Tim Norman and Michael Billingsley have been appointed administrators of Karen Millen Australia. This comes after the London label was bought out of administration by online fashion retailer Boohoo last month for £18 million.
The administrators said they will progressively close all the stores in the coming weeks, putting 80 people out of work.
“With the UK business now sold and the label withdrawing from Australia, we expect to wind down the business here and progressively close all stores in the coming weeks,” Norman said. “If quick, shoppers can expect some bargains with discounted stock being sold from stores and online until the end of this month.”
The closing down sale is offering up to 75% discount.
The womenswear designer has seven stores across Australia and eight concessions stands within the David Jones and Myer department stores.
The seven stores are located:
- Chadstone shopping centre, DFO South Wharf and Emporium in Melbourne, owned by Vicinity Centres.
- Westfield Doncaster in Melbourne, owned Scentre Group, ISPT and Asia Property Fund
- The Queen Victoria Building (QVB) and Chatswood Chase in Sydney, owned by Vicinity
- and Burnside Village in Adelaide, owned by Cohen Group.
The eight concession stands are located within Myer’s Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne CBDs, Bondi, Chadstone and Perth stores, and David Jones’ Sydney and Melbourne CBDs locations.
The closure of Karen Millen stores is further pain for landlords and comes just a week after David Jones announced it will reduce its floorspace by 20%.
This week the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals retail turnover fell 0.1% in July, which went against expectations of a 0.2% increase, despite two interest rate cuts in June and July, and the tax bonus.
The tax refund of between $255 to $1,080 began in July. The Australian Taxation Office yesterday revealed that 5.5 million Australians have received their refunds, totalling $14 billion. Meanwhile RateCity estimates the two rate cuts, totalling 50 basis points, will save households up to $116 a month or $1,389 a year.
