SA job fears as two iconic fashion labels go bust
Two of Australia’s top fashion brands are in receivership, threatening 10 SA outlets.
Australian fashion retailers Cue and Veronika Maine – founded in 1968 and now operating 51 outlets across the nation – have announced they are in receivership with FTI Consulting appointed yesterday.
The news means employees at the two brands’ that sell tailored women’s clothing at South Australian outlets face an uncertain future, with an announcement blaming high overhead costs for the demise of the two labels.
Receivers are keeping the business trading while they assess what options are available and a sale process has started in an attempt to secure a future for the brands.
The news has sparked a warning from South Australian Fashion Industry Association (SAFIA) board chair Dr Nathan James Crane, who said the appointment of receivers to Cue & Co Pty Ltd was “deeply concerning”.
“Not simply because of the significance of a brand that has been part of the Australian fashion landscape for almost six decades, but because it speaks to the very real pressures facing our industry more broadly,” Crane, who is also an interior architecture lecturer at Adelaide University, said.
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“For an established Australian company with the recognition and history of Cue to find itself in this position should prompt a broader conversation about the conditions we are creating for Australian fashion businesses to remain viable, competitive and ambitious.
“For SAFIA, it reinforces the importance of strengthening the entire fashion ecosystem, building business capability, supporting local production and skills, encouraging more resilient and circular business models, and ensuring Australian fashion is understood not simply as retail, but as a creative and productive industry that generates employment, intellectual property, cultural value and economic activity.”
The South Australian fashion industry contributes about $220 million to the state’s economy, according to SAFIA. The association team is currently working hard to iron out final details for this year’s ADL Fashion Week starting on October 7.
An Industry Breakfast is on the programme where designers, key stakeholders and industry leaders will explore how the state’s industry can scale up it’s enterprises.
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