Australian department store Harris Scarfe goes into voluntary administration

Yet another Australian store has fallen through the cracks as department chain Harris Scarfe has been placed into voluntary administration, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

After 169 years of trading, selling everything from clothing to homewares and appliances, the retail chain is one of the country’s oldest brands and has 66 stores across the country, employing more than 1,800 members of staff.

The news was confirmed earlier today with Deloitte Restructuring Services appointed as administrators of the chain, which has the largest presence in South Australia.

A statement released on Wednesday afternoon by Vaughan Strawbridge from DRS said: “Harris Scarfe is a longstanding retail institution. We will be making every effort to secure a future for the business and intend to commence an immediate sale of business process.”

The collapse of the iconic brand comes just weeks before Christmas however, despite being in receivership, trading is expected to continue as normal over the festive period with employees set to be paid by the receivers, according to News.com.au.

It is hoped that a buyer will be found for the brand, which only changed hands last month when it was purchased by Sydney-based equity fund Allegro Funds, along with discount retailer Best & Less.

Harris Scarfe is just he latest in a long line of Aussie retailers to collapse in recent years, following the likes of Roger David, which folded in December 2018, Ed Harry, Napoleon Perdis and Laura Ashley. Topshop, Marcs and David Lawrence are also among those who are now out of business or struggling in the Australian market.

While iconic fashion brand Esprit also ceased trading in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year when all 67 of the chain’s remaining stores were shut down due to poor performance compared to its other stores around the globe, particularly in Asia.