Jeanswest collapses amid retail pain, with 600 staff and 90 stores across Australia to go

Shopping mall mainstay Jeanswest has become another victim of a pulback in discretionary spending as shoppers keep a closer eye on their budgets amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Administrators were called into the business on Wednesday — just over five years after it was rescued from complete collapse in 2020.

Jeanswest has more than 90 stores across Australia and more than 600 staff. Most could lose their jobs as the brand — which sells men’s and women’s fashion staples — fights to remain an online-only business.

Lindsay Bainbridge, Andrew Yeo and David Vasudevan from Pitcher Partners Melbourne have been appointed administrators.

“While the bricks and mortar business operations are set to close in due course, the brand and online store may be continuing and all restructuring options remain open,” Pitcher Partners said.

Hong Kong’s Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd rescued Jeanswest after it entered administration in 2020 but has found it difficult to revive the brand through bricks-and-mortar shopfronts as trading conditions for Australian retailers become increasingly tough while consumers remain cautious.

“The owners have done everything they can to keep Jeanswest going, but market conditions mean sustaining bricks-and-mortar stores is not viable and unlikely to improve,” Mr Bainbridge said.

“They deeply regret the impact of store closures on their team members and their customers, and we will be working now with teams across the country.”

Mr Bainbridge acknowledged the impact of the decision on staff.

“This is a hard day for hundreds of Jeanswest team members and we will be working directly with the team members to provide clarity and information about the next steps,” he said.

Mr Bainbridge said he expected all store stock to go on immediate sale as the administrators began the process of restructuring the business.

“We will be opening the doors of all stores and selling online to clear all stock to secure a return to creditors,” he said.

The national chain was founded by high-flying entrepreneur Alister Norwood, who opened the first Jeanswest store in Perth’s Barrack Street in 1972 — drawing the attention of Perth’s in-crowd, rising business types, trend setters, beach girls and even international rock stars.

The business expanded to the east coast before Mr Norwood sold up in the 1990s after key suppliers, including Levi Strauss and Faberge, stopped delivering stock because of mounting debts.

Jeanswest was bought by Hong Kong-listed Glorious Sun in 1994 and the brand expanded overseas with operations in Russia, Fiji, Venezuela, Vietnam and China.

In 2017, the Australian arm of the business was sold to a private company called Howsea Limited, run by its chairman Charles Yeung and vice-chairman Yeung Chun Fan.

When Jeanswest Corporation Pty Ltd collapsed in January 2020, it employed 988 staff in 146 stores across Australia. Administrators from KPGM at the time said it owed up to $50 million.

Harbour Guidance came to the rescue a month later after KPGM had trimmed the retailer’s footprint to 106 stores and 680 staff.

Owned by Chun Fan Yeung and his family interests, Harbour Guidance was no stranger to the brand. Mr Yeung was a minority shareholder in Howsea Ltd, the previous parent company of Jeanswest.