Jeanswest shutdown cuts 600 jobs, KFC Australia to undertake redundancies

Fashion brand Jeanswest is undergoing a voluntary administration after five years of struggling to revive the brand, while KFC Australia will see redundancies as part of a “global strategy”.

Jeanswest

After rescuing Jeanswest when it entered administration back in 2020, Harbour Guidance has closed the curtain on the 53-year-old brand, with Lindsay Bainbridge, partner at Pitcher Partners, announcing that the company would be entering into voluntary administration.

According to a Pitcher Partners’ statement, “Jeanswest has called time on its bricks-and-mortar retail operations”, citing increasingly tough business conditions, exacerbated by “reduced discretionary spending and increased cost of living”.

Despite the closure of the bricks-and-mortar business operations, the brand and online store may be continuing, with restructuring options for Jeanswest’s 600 team members, spread over 90 different locations remaining open.

Bainbridge praised the company’s effort in attempting to revive the brand over the past half-decade, with it ultimately having to shut down its in-store operations to focus on online retail.

“The owners have done everything they can to keep Jeanswest going, but market conditions mean sustaining bricks-and-mortar stores is not viable and unlikely to improve,” Bainbridge said.

“They deeply regret the impact of store closures on their team members and their customers, and we will be working now with teams across the country.”

Touching on the 600 staff members who were set to be impacted by the administration, Bainbridge said: “This is a hard day for hundreds of Jeanswest team members, and we will be working directly with the team members to provide clarity and information about the next steps.”

“We will be opening the doors of all stores and selling online to clear all stock to secure a return to creditors.”

KFC Australia

In related news, and as part of a “global strategy” being implemented by KFC Australia’s parent company, Yum! Brands – the food giant’s Australia-based office staff are set to be affected.

A KFC spokesperson confirmed the application of the strategy in a statement to HR Leader: “Yum! is implementing a global strategy across all brands and markets, which has led to changes for the KFC Australia head office that impact some of our Australian team.

“We are working through a period of consultation over the coming weeks, and all our people are being fully supported at this time.”

When asked how many roles are set to be impacted, the spokesperson responded that KFC Australia “[doesn’t] have any further information to provide at this point in time”.