Another brand owned by Mosaic is to be closed after receivers failed to find a buyer. Rivers, which traces its history back to 1863, will close 136 stores across the country by mid-April, resulting in the loss of 650 jobs.
It’s the seventh brand taken over by Mosaic to be shut down following, Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, W Lane, and BeMe in late September and Katies in December.
Receivers are currently still trying to put together a deal that would save the remaining brands, including Millers and Noni B.
KPMG turnaround and restructuring partner David Hardy (who is one of four receivers for the company) thanked Mosaic and Rivers staff for working tirelessly over the past few months.
“Unfortunately, a sale of Rivers was not able to be achieved. This means the receivers have made the difficult decision to wind down this iconic Australian brand,” he said in a statement.
The stores will close at different times depending on stock levels, and sales and promotions will be held to clear stock.
Founded by Joe Paddle and his sons in Charlton, Victoria, the business was initially a shoe manufacturer and wholesaler. It moved to Ballarat in the 1960s.
It got an opportunity for major expansion in 1979, when it started selling goods to department stores Grace Bros and David Jones.
Its first branded store, selling men’s shoes, was opened in Sydney in 1983. Six years later it got a major boost when Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was revealed to be a regular customer, ordering Rivers’ boots by fax from London.
By 1993, it had grown to 50 stores across Australia, and introduced a range of men’s clothing.
It grasped the importance of online retailing relatively early, opening its website in 1999. A year later, it added women’s clothes to its range.
Its independence came to an end in 2013 when it was bought by Speciality Fashion Group, now City Chic, for $5 million (US$3.1 million).
In 2018, it was sold again, alongside Autograph, Katies, Crossroads, and Millers, to Noni B for $31 million.
Mosaic Brands was an ASX-listed retailer which was placed into administration in October, owing $249 million.
From a pre-pandemic price of $2.00 a share, it last traded at 4 cents, giving it a market capitalisation of just $6.3 million.
In common with many businesses, it had faced major supply chain disruptions in the years after COVID-19, with delays in receiving stock leading to falling earnings and sales in the fourth quarter of the past financial year.
