Colette to close five WA stores

Fashion accessory chain Colette by Colette Hayman will close five of its stores in Western Australia, including both stores in the CBD, after the struggling retailer was placed into voluntary administration earlier this month.

Colette, which sells handbags, jewellery and other accessories, has 15 stores in the state and 126 across the country, and a further 14 stores in New Zealand.

Its administrators, appointed earlier this month, said the Colette brand employed more than 300 permanent staff plus casuals, and generated more than $140 million in annual sales.

Deloitte advisory and restricting partners Vaughan Strawbridge, Sam Marsden and Jason Tracy were appointed as administrators to the CBCH group of companies, which owns the Colette brand.

Today, the administrators said stores at Hay Street (in the Enex building), DFO Watertown, Belmont, Ocean Keys and Mandurah will close over the next three weeks.

Twenty-eight stores across Australia and New Zealand will also close, while 105 stores will remain in the portfolio to be offered for sale.

Mr Strawbridge said the administrators had reviewed the Colette store network, taking into consideration a number of factors before making the decision to start closing stores.

He said all efforts were being made to redeploy staff that will be affected by the closures.

“All staff impacted are expected to receive their wages and entitlements in full,” he said.

“We are working closely with the Colette management team to effect the closures quickly while seeking to redeploy staff impacted”

The administrators, which continued to trade the Colette business since their appointment, said they have seen good response from customers and staff who were supporting the brand.

Initial expressions of interest in purchasing the remaining 105 stores are due early next week.

Colette joins a list of struggling Australian retailers, including Perth-founded Jeanswest, Bardot, Harris Scarfe and Curious Planet (formerly Australian Geographic), which all entered into voluntary administration in recent months.