Expressions of interest close this week for the sale of the now four store Fat fashion chain, after administrators shut two underperforming stores just days after its collapse. David Coyne, James Koutsoukos, and Antony Resnick of BRI Ferrier were appointed administrators of Parque Pty Ltd, which trades as Fat Stores, on February 17, and just days later closed two stores at Highpoint shopping centre and Westfield Doncaster in Melbourne. It is understood that Fat, which still has four stores tra
ading in Melbourne in Fitzroy, the CBD, Chapel St, and Chadstone shopping centre, employs around 40 staff and had debts of around $4 million prior to be being placed in administration.
It is not the first time the chain has sought a bailout. Fat was rescued by Parque in 2012 after being placed in administration for the first time with reportedly more than $1 million in debts.
Coyne told Inside Retail PREMIUM that administrators have not made a decision on the closure of more stores, adding that the business has received a number of expressions of interest, although he could not disclose if offers have been made.
Fat opened its first store in 1998 and launched an e-commerce presence in 2011. It stocks a range of local and international high end designers, such as Comme Des Garcons, Cosmic Wonder, Henrik Vibskov, and Marios, as well as local emerging brands including Grand Scheme, Desert Designs, Rollas, Kloke, and Daniela Stephanie.
Fat’s collapse follows that of luxury designer, Josh Goot; New Zealand-based fashion retailer, Bing, Harris & Co; and the local franchise operator of G-Star Raw, Denim Enterprises.
Denim Enterprises appointed Gess Michael Rambaldi and Andrew Reginald Yeo of Pitcher Partners as voluntary administrators on February 2 and operates all 21 G-Star retail outlets in Australia.
Josh Goot, which is also seeking expressions of interest for the sale of the label, has two standalone stores in Paddington, Sydney and Armadale in Melbourne and told Inside Retail PREMIUM its administration is “in order to restructure the business in the wake of well documented difficult trading conditions in the fashion industry”.
