Another Aussie retailer looks set to bite the dust

If you have a gift card for David Lawrence or Marcs, now is the time to use it

The fashion brands have gone into voluntary administration, with the future of their 52 stores and more than 150 other outlets and concessions stores in Australia and New Zealand looking cloudy.

Malcolm Webster, the director of the company that owns both brands, blames sluggish sales and poor cash flow for the administration.

Administrators Rodgers Reidy say that the stores will trade as normal while they try to find a buyer for the business, and that gift cards and returns will be handled under the company’s existing policies.

Shuttering the stores would leave about 1,130 Australian workers out of a job, in what has been tough times for retailers. This follows the closures over the past year of Dick Smith, Masters and Payless Shoes and the administration of Pumpkin Patch.

And the ABC reports today that Alannah Hill will no longer run concession stores within David Jones, although the fashion label will keep its standalone boutiques open.

Alannah Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Starts at 60.

Do you still buy from stores or is e-commerce killing retailers? Or are consumers fed up with a poor selection of products or high prices? How would you fix the local retail sector?