Clothing chain Colorado is set to close 140 stores over the next five weeks after receivers failed to find buyers, resulting in the loss of more than 1000 jobs. The debt-ridden company will be closing 100 stores trading under the Colorado banner and nine in New Zealand.
These include 21 Williams footwear outlets, two Jag stores and a Dianna Ferrari store. Receiver Brendan Richard of corporate recovery firm Ferrier Hodgson said the closure means 1042 staff will be laid off, including 30 people from the company’s head office in Melbourne. Richard attributes Colorado’s demise to its unsuccesful attempt to reposition itself from an outdoor “adventure wear” retailer into a seller of mid-market casual fashion.
The rebranding mishap was the last straw for a brand which has lost its essence over the last seven years and which has, like many other retailers, been operating in an environment of economic downturn and a slowing down in discretionary spending. Richard says the closures will streamline the Colorado portfolio, eliminating the loss-making sites and leaving a portfolio of 281 profitable stores to be dominated by the Diana Ferrari, Jag, Williams and Mathers brands.
Ferrier Hogdson will put the company back on the market and buyers are expected to show more enthusiasm following the streamlining. News of Colorado’s closure came weeks after the Borders chain announced it would close in Australia.