A melbourne-based retail chain that helped launch fashion labels including Sass & Bide, Gorman and Alpha60 has collapsed into voluntary administration for the second time.
FAT Stores operates five outlets in the Melbourne, selling a variety of local and international clothing labels. A sixth outlet in the Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s west closed today.
The latest FAT store opened in the refurbished Strand Arcade in Melbourne’s CBD in mid-2014 but less than 12 months later administrators BRI Ferrier have been called in to manage the chain.
David Coyne, James Koutsoukos and Antony Resnick of BRI Ferrier were appointed administrators of Parque Pty Ltd, trading as FAT Stores, on February 17. The first meeting of creditors is scheduled to be held on February 26.
Coyne told SmartCompany the chain currently employs 40 staff, including head office staff, but this number may change if further stores are closed.
“At this stage it is our intention to continue trading whilst seeking to find a buyer for the business and whilst looking to restructure its operations,” Coyne says.
Coyne attributes the collapse of the FAT chain to “declining margins across its range of products, particularly third party products”, as…
