Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login At the start of May, fashion businesses around the country were gearing up for the industry’s premier event, Australian Fashion Week. Now, at the month’s end, prestige designer Dion Lee has gone into administration , and Tigerlily has been narrowly saved from bankruptcy by Seafolly.
These followed the closure of Nique, a 26-year-old genderless apparel brand, in February, and widespread redundancies at Aje in March . This week the ABS reported that spending on clothing, footwear and accessories had plummeted by 2.5 per cent in April 2024 compared with April 2023.
It represented the largest percentage decline in any retail category. At Australian Fashion Week in early May, the industry was galvanised for the future. By the month’s end, things are looking bleaker.
Steven Siewert “This is the tail end of the pandemic,” said consultant Joanne Goldman, who has worked with businesses such as Rebecca Vallance and Christopher Esber. “What we are seeing now is the consequences of how retailers behaved during the pandemic, coupled with a downturn in consumer spending.” But it’s not simply outsized spending.
Retailers are grappling with the challenge of online returns, said Ms Goldman. Some businesses she has worked with have return rates of 80 per cent; the industry standard is 35 per cent. “The big retailers o.
