Women's clothing stores Millers and Noni B to shut Australia-wide, leaving 933 employees out of work

Women’s clothing stores Millers and Noni B will shut all 252 of their outlets in Australia and New Zealand over the coming weeks, a decision that will leave 933 employees out of work.

The two labels were the last ones remaining under the Mosaic Brands Group parent company that still had hope of survival, but that was dashed on Wednesday (29 January).

Mosaic Brands went into administration in October 2024. Receivers KPMG previously announced the closure of all its other outlets – Katies, Rivers, Autograph, Rockmans, Crossroads, W.Lane and BeMe.

“Despite the best efforts of all parties, we have been unable to achieve a sale of any of the brands within the Mosaic portfolio. As a result, all stores in the Mosaic Brands Group will be wound down over the coming months. We expect all stores will be closed by mid-April,” KPMG partner David Hardy said.

“The receivers would again like to acknowledge and thank the Mosaic management team, employees, customers and suppliers for their support throughout the receivership process”.

Within Region‘s media footprint, Millers has stores in Belconnen, Tuggeranong, Gungahlin, Corrimal, Warrawong, Shellharbour, Batemans Bay and Bowral.

Noni B has outlets in Warilla, Shellharbour, Bowral and Batemans Bay.

The exact timing of individual store closures will vary and be dependent on stock levels and sell-through.

Sales of up to 70 per cent off and promotions will be run in all stores and the receivers encourage customers to visit their local store or the e-commerce site while stocks last.

Veteran retail analyst Geoff Dart says he expects more clothing stores to close in the coming months.

He describes Myer’s current moves to acquire Apparel Brands (including Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti and Jacqui E) as a “disaster”.

“Myer is an older person’s brand and young people don’t want to go there. It will result in more closures as the stores move into Myer,” he said.

“The world is becoming smaller, brands are becoming stronger. The ones that don’t resonate with consumers are going by the wayside.

“The only shops that are going to survive are those who have a strong marketing presence and offer value for money, like Kmart.”

KPMG has revealed Mosaic Brands owes $250 million to various creditors worldwide, including just over $20 million to 23 Bangladesh garment exporters.

A number of employees have not been paid their entitlements, such as accrued annual leave and severance pay, several months after their store closures.

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 all union members will eventually be paid what they are owed.

He advises all union members who have lost or will lose their job in a Mosaic store to keep copies of all their employment records and payslips.

Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Riotact.