‘We have been unable to achieve a sale’: Why two popular chains are closing for good

A major shake-up in the retail world has left shoppers wondering what comes next.

What began as a routine business move has now led to the closure of some long-standing stores, sending ripples through the industry.

The repercussions are far-reaching, but what does this sudden shift really mean for the future of shopping?


Mosaic Brands, the company behind popular Australian retailers such as Millers and Noni B, has announced the closure of its remaining stores.

The two chains, along with Rivers, will be completely shut down by April after receivers failed to secure a buyer for the group.

The closures will result in the loss of 252 stores and 933 jobs.


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Mosaic Brands to close stores, jobs lost nationwide. Image source: Instagram/boovalfair/strathpinecentre


Receiver David Hardy from KPMG shared: 'Despite the best efforts of all parties, we have been unable to achieve a sale of any of the brands within the Mosaic portfolio.'

The closure announcement follows the recent shutdown of other Mosaic brands, including Katies, Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, W Lane, and BeMe.

Hardy confirmed: '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.'

The decision came shortly after the announcement of the end of the men’s clothing chain Rivers, also part of the Mosaic group.


Mosaic had entered voluntary administration in October, initially planning to wind down five of its chains: Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, W Lane, and BeMe, with the focus shifting to its remaining brands.

However, all of these brands, including Rivers, Millers, and Noni B, will now be shuttered.

The receivers acknowledged the support received from the management team, employees, customers, and suppliers during the process, expressing gratitude for their cooperation.

Closing down sales will occur at individual stores depending on stock levels, with each location's closing scheduled at different times.


In a previous story, we detailed the closure of Rivers, another beloved brand under the Mosaic umbrella.

All 136 stores across Australia were set to shut down, leaving approximately 650 employees without jobs after receivers failed to secure a buyer.

For more on how this affects both employees and the wider retail industry, be sure to read the full article here.

Key Takeaways
  • Mosaic Brands announced the closure of its remaining stores, including Millers, Noni B, and Rivers, after receivers failed to find a buyer for the group.
  • The closures will result in the shutdown of 252 stores and the loss of 933 jobs, with all stores expected to close by mid-April.
  • Receiver David Hardy confirmed that despite efforts, no sale was achieved for any of the brands in the Mosaic portfolio, including Katies, Rockmans, and others.
  • Closing down sales will be held at individual stores, with each location closing depending on stock levels and scheduled at different times.

With so many closures happening, how do you think this will impact local shoppers and the retail industry as a whole? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
 

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I spelt Suzanne when is should be Sussan .. sorry. I edited it.
They aren't closed, as a Melbourne lady owns them. Her father started the brand as well as Sportsgirl too.
I think the material being linen blend or cotton makes them appear rubbish these days. People have gone away from buying synthetic materials over the years. Charity shops are full of them. I personally don't find the cotton or linen quality inferior.
Yeah no matter nothing close to me anyway. Gotta go at least 80 kms to get to either of them. 60 to the nearest BigW and Kmart
 
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I used to shop at Millers, Rockmans & Beme a few years ago but the quality & styles changed so they lost a customer and that was about the time I began shopping online. I’m still wearing lovely lightweight trousers that I bought from Millers over 20 years ago. I have purchased some long sleeved shirts from Beme’s closing sale, online of course, & absolutely love the soft cotton fabric, but I had to sew up a couple of seams that weren’t finished properly. I think they went wrong by totally ignoring us older ladies & focused on younger people. I certainly don’t want frills & flounces or skinny jeans, let alone garish prints.
 
Yes but the choice is limited. Mostly dark colours or puffy stuff. Not suitable for older ladies. I have bought some dresses from Kmart and BigW but had to unpick the "darts" to allow for a better fit.
I haven't noticed all dark colours in the stores, but I do know that it depends where you live with what stock is in the stores. ie. southern states get more dark colours and heavier materials than northern states.
At least unpicking those darts isn't a huge problem for you. Paying for a seamstress is dollars for altering which we don't want.
 
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I’m sorry to disagree with you but the apparel l have bought from TEMU has been of very good quality both in the making and the fabrics.
Whilst l feel for those who have lost there jobs l stopped shopping at Millers and Rivers long before TEMU came along.
Me too. I wear a lot of TEMU and SHEIN clothes and their sizes are consistent. I stopped buying at millers, river's etc because I felt their styles were becoming quite frumpy.
 
I don't understand anything anymore.
All the stores you mentioned are iny local shopping mall.Tjeu ate always empty but the people in the store tell me to shop on their respective websites for more choice,better prices and sizes,but the online stores are closing too.Vat h is now closing in April,I was using them even for bulk grocery items during covid they sell every top band of clothing shoes,homewares accessories,you name it,but westfatmers apparently say they aren't making a big enough profit,shein and Temu are too hard to compete with,but these two places just sell rubbish,they don't sell brand name stuff.Its all imitations and they don't even try to.pit a brand on anything,just cheat made rubbish that has to be thrown away.
Our local myer and DJs doesn't have any variety and tell you to shop on line on their website too so what or were do you go to buy anything decent that isn't an imperfect or seconds?
SHOE Stores the same
Sorry go online we have limited styles and sizes I'm store,can't carry everything!!!!!!!
I have a wardrobe full of clothes from Temu, nothing wrong with the quality.I am complimented on my clothes all the time.
What about Rivers. all they sell is.cheap rubbish. All those stores sell products from China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh etc. The only exception would Noni B.
Too many stores selling much of the same stuff, no wonder they couldn't find a buyer for them..
Yes they can't compete with online stores. Temu and Shein have new stock every day. 1000s of things to choose from.
Temu deliver free, offer excellent service.
You will always receive a prompt credit if you're not happy and quite often they don't require you to return the product.
The majority of people who write negative comments about Temu have never purchased from them.
 
Try 9 popular brands and thousands to be made redundant with those already put of work because their stores (Rockmans, W Lane, Katies, sone Noni B stores and sone Rivers still awaiting their payout (holiday pay, long service pay, redundancy etc) and the last quarter's superannuation yet to be paid.

No final Termination Certificate yet either. But that's okay. Those staff can't pay their mortgage/rent/school fees etc but do they care? No!
You can't stay in business if you're not making money and that's what it boils down to.
 
I’m sorry to disagree with you but the apparel l have bought from TEMU has been of very good quality both in the making and the fabrics.
Whilst l feel for those who have lost there jobs l stopped shopping at Millers and Rivers long before TEMU came along.
Agree 100%. Being tiny the clothes fit beautifully, I bought a bag with a damaged zip not only got a refund was told to keep the bag. Service is wonderful.
Bit like the corner shop disappearing times change, but the people losing their jobs is really sad.
 
It’s not only bricks and mortar stores affected - Catch.com.au (previously Catch of the Day) is shutting down in April.
I expect Amazon and Kogans have affected a lot of online retailers too. The online marketplace is extremely competitive too. There’s bound to be casualties especially in a bad economy.
 
I live in a small town, we have a Khub (kmart jammed into a shoe box) Rivers and Rockmans, it's going to leave us with no options. I like to try clothes on cos I'm a weird shape, I don't know what to do now
I also like to try clothes on , I like to feel the material, also to see if it suits me. I have bought a couple of things online, during covid, never with satisfaction so won’t buy on line anymore.
 
unfortunately technology is affecting lots of sectors in many way, but is helping many in other ways. Buying on line most of the time is cheaper than shops and with the cost of living, we can't blame the buyers, on the other hand, we are loosing jobs, what doesn't help the economy and will be a lot more people in need of help and us (the elderly people) won't have anywhere to shop since we are not Technology orientates to buy on line. After all that said, all of us should support our country before others ( charity start at home)
 
Personal opinion. I will not buy from Temu as they have been accused of capturing personal data. I have bought stuff from them but won't anymore. too much risk
The best way around the risk of money being taken out of your bank is to have a bank especially for on line purchases Just keep a certain amount in there to cover your transactions
 
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Try 9 popular brands and thousands to be made redundant with those already put of work because their stores (Rockmans, W Lane, Katies, sone Noni B stores and sone Rivers still awaiting their payout (holiday pay, long service pay, redundancy etc) and the last quarter's superannuation yet to be paid.

No final Termination Certificate yet either. But that's okay. Those staff can't pay their mortgage/rent/school fees etc but do they care? No!
The stores mentioned that we have been so used to seeing in local shopping centers did not stand a chance of remaining open once they were purchased by the Mosaic Conglomorate, Mosaic is another word for cheap mass produced rubbish and totally non existent customer service. Mosaic ate the heart out of all the stores being closed, On-line shopping is not to blame, just a company that only cared about profit and not what customers wanted, remember how Rivers Stores used to have great jeans for men, heavy duty denim and a suberb fit, that quality went out of the window once Mosaic purchased Rivers, the denim became rubbish thin and the fit no where near what it once was and Rivers Jeans is not the only item of clothing to have suffered, a trip into any of the clothing stores being closed would have shown you racks of clothing that were so similar in design and of such inferior quality to what we were used to seeing, we could have shopped in all of the stores and found the same items. It is no fault of all the store staff now out of a job the fault can be firmly laid at the feet of Mosaic, there should be a law against a single company purchasing so many clothing stores at once, makes me angry that our choice of retailers has been taken away from us:mad:
 
With all these popular stores closing down where do we buy from now. ? I don't want shop online. I like to feel the quality & try garments on. Can't do that
online. We are supporting China mainly, the copy cats, by buying on line, which is so wrong. Why can't Australia make clothing fom Australian cotton. We had so many manufactures here but hardly any, if any now. What is wrong with us. Unions, continual wage rises, lazy Australians. If you look at shops, restaurants etc mostly what you see are every denomination of country working there & hardly any Aussies. We are ruining our own country.
 
Though I use Temu for some items, clothes, I won't because they are all made from the same fabric. I prefer to use retailers such as Millers & Rivers. I agree with one of the correspondents, K mart & Big W are disappointments. I wonder if the buyer for those two stores ever wear the items they expect their shoppers to buy.
 
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Very sorry to see Mosaic go, I have spent many hours at most of their outlets. But I also noticed that their quality and variety had decreased. The retailers cannot do that when the customer is paying top dollar for these items. Most of their clothing and merchandise was made in China and then you find the same or similar on Temu and Shein, probably from the same factories. I think shoppers are becomming aware of this and are choosing to go for online. I`m am concerned about the many workers from Mosaics they must be worried sick!
 
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