Katies will end its 68 years in operation across Australia in January. Photo: Facebook.
Longstanding women’s clothing brand Katies will shut all its stores across Australia by mid-January 2025, ending 68 years in operation.
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The announcement was made by the receivers and managers of Katies’ parent company, Mosaic Brand Group, which went into voluntary administration in October.
Mosaic originally announced it planned to wind up five of its brands (Autograph, Rockmans, Crossroads, W.Lane and BeMe) but keep five other labels open (Millers, Noni B, Rivers and Katies and the standalone online Mosaic marketplace).
However, administrators have since uncovered that the company owes $250 million to various creditors worldwide, including just over $20 million to 23 Bangladesh garment exporters.
On Tuesday (10 December), the receivers and managers said in a statement: “All 80 Katies stores and an additional 80 stores across the Millers, Rivers, and Noni B brands will close by mid-January 2025. Impacted employees and landlords will be notified as soon as possible.”
Across the Region media network, Katies has stores in Tuggeranong, Wollongong, Wagga and Griffith. As of Tuesday, staff in these stores had not been informed of the closing date.
Katies launched its first store in Australia in Rundle Street in Adelaide in 1954. At its peak, the label had 163 shops Australia-wide in 1993.
“The decision to undertake the store consolidation program has not been taken lightly,” a spokesperson for the receiver KPMG said.
“Since the date of appointment, the Receivers and Managers have stabilised operations, continuing to trade the businesses of the group while engaging with suppliers to release stock for the crucial Black Friday and Christmas trading periods.
“The decision was made following a review of the performance of Katies as a brand, and the wider store network. The stores identified to close have been loss-making, resulting in the decision to close them in January.
“Approximately 480 store employees will be impacted by the planned closures, which are due to occur by mid-January 2025. The Receivers and Managers would like to thank all employees, particularly those whose tenure is coming to an end, for their commitment and support through the receivership process.”
Liz Purtell worked for a Mosaic Brand’s Autograph store that closed six weeks ago, but she’s still waiting to be paid her entitlements. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Mosaic Group label Autograph has stores in Tuggeranong, Belconnen, Queanbeyan and Wagga, and W.Lane has a shop in Tuggeranong. All remain open as of early December 2024, with no formal announcement on when they might close.
Autograph Griffith closed its doors on 26 October. An exclusive Region investigation has revealed that six weeks later, employees of this store are still owed thousands of dollars.
Liz Purtell, the store manager who worked there for 27 years, is still waiting to be paid her annual leave, long service leave and redundancy entitlements.
“I put so much into the job over so many years. I went down to part-time three years ago, but I still worked the same hours, often unpaid, because I was so loyal to my customers … I’m trying to find out if and when I’ll get paid, but it’s hard to get answers. It’s not just me owed money, it’s all staff,” she said.
Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) NSW secretary Bernie Smith told Region his union is involved in the administration process and is confident that Liz and all other SDA members will eventually be paid their entitlements.
He advises all union members who have lost or may lose their job in a Mosaic store to keep copies of all their employment records and payslips.
Mosaic Brands is now in the hands of two administrators. KPMG is running the day-to-day operations of the company and FTI Consulting is trying to sell the business and recoup money for unpaid employees and other creditors.
FTI Consulting has advised interested parties that the deadline for making offers has been extended until the end of December 2024.
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