Fashion retailer Jeanswest has gone into voluntary administration placing doubt on the future of its 146 stores, including the shop in Shellharbour.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
KPMG's Peter Gothard and James Stewart were appointed administrators of the Australian brand on Wednesday afternoon.
The Shellharbour shop in Stockland Shopping Centre is the only store in the Illawarra.
Mr Gothard said the chain, which currently employs 988 people across its stores nationally, would continue to operate while the administrators conducted "an urgent analysis of the business".
"The administrators will be looking at all options for the restructure or sale of this established Australian retail business and are seeking urgent expressions of interest from parties interested in acquiring or investing in the business," he said.
Online competition and poor consumer spending is being blamed for the financial demise of the brand.
"Like many other retailers, the business has been challenged by current tough market conditions and pressure from online competition," said Mr Stewart.
"The administration provides an opportunity for Jeanswest to restructure so as to better respond to the challenging Australian retail market."
Jeanswest was founded in Perth in 1972 and expanded to the east coast during the 1980s, before being bought by Hong Kong firm Glorious Sun in 1994.
In 2017, the publicly-listed Glorious Sun sold the Australian operations to a private company called Howsea Limited.
The brand has stores overseas including in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia and Indonesia.
The administration only affects the Australian business.
The announcement follows other recent large retail chain collapses include Bardot and Harris Scarfe.
Subscribe to our newsletters for breaking and alerts