Ginger & Smart trims network under ‘strategic’ administration

(Source: Ginger & Smart website)

Premium Australian fashion designer Ginger & Smart has closed two of its Sydney boutiques under the cover of a short-term administration. 

Administrators Katherine Barnet and Damien Hodgkinson of Olvera Advisors were appointed on February 25 in what a spokesperson for the retailer’s parent Alquemie Group described to Inside Retail as “a strategic administration to deal with some legacy issues”. 

“Ginger & Smart will come out of administration in a few weeks and will then continue to trade on as part of the Alquemie Group. The administration has been used to clean up the lease portfolio and Covid-related rental relief,” the spokesperson said.

The two stores that closed are located at Westfield Bondi Junction and in the Strand Arcade in Sydney’s CBD. 

“All other physical stores, concession stores in David Jones nationally and the online store remain open and continue to trade.”

Ginger & Smart describes itself as a designer of fashion for “spirited women whose distinctive style is an expression of their individuality”.

Founded in 2002 by Sydney-based sisters Alexandra and Genevieve Smart, private-equity investor Alquemie Group took a majority stake in the business in 2019. The label has been a regular participant in the Melbourne Fashion Festival and still has seven boutiques in Australia – two each in Queensland and NSW, and one each in WA, South Australia and Victoria.  

Stocked by selected independent luxury retailers abroad, the company is understood to be exploring expanding its international presence. 

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