By Kate Ainsworth and Emilia Terzon, ABC
More than 90 Jeanswest stores across Australia will shut within months. Photo: ABC News / West Matteeussen
The company confirmed the news on Wednesday, with administrators citing increasingly tough trading conditions in the Australian retail sector.
Jeanswest entered administration in January 2020, but was rescued by Hong Kong business Harbour Guidance.
Administrators from Pitcher Partners said the decision to close the brand came after five years of struggling to revive the company, with shoppers spending less due to the higher cost of living.
"The owners have done everything they can to keep Jeanswest going," administrator Lindsay Bainbridge said in a statement.
"But market conditions mean sustaining bricks-and-mortar stores is not viable and unlikely to improve.
"They deeply regret the impact of store closures on their team members and their customers, and we will be working now with teams across the country."
All stock at Jeanswest stores is expected to go on sale shortly, Bainbridge said, with the retailer currently promoting a mid-season sale.
Jeanswest operates more than 90 stores around the country and employs more than 600 workers.
Its administrators are hoping to keep the brand going in some capacity online, which could save some of those 600 jobs.
However, many of those people work in the more than 90 stores set to close.
"This is a hard day for hundreds of Jeanswest team members and we will be working directly with the team members to provide clarity and information about the next steps," Bainbridge said.
Jeanswest has several stores in New Zealand too, which administrators say are not closing.
Founded in Australia, Jeanswest opened its first retail store in Perth in 1972, before expanding to the east coast during the 1980s.
It was purchased by Hong Kong firm Glorious Sun in 1994, before the business was sold to private company Howsea Limited in 2017.
- ABC
