The parent company of loved brands such as Noni B, Millers, Rockmans and Katies has said it will close a further 250 stores within the next six months.
Announcing the closure at its annual general meeting today, retail conglomerate Mosaic Brands said "unrealistic rental requests" and a move to online shopping had pushed customers away from bricks-and-mortar stores.
Mosaic Brands Limited owns and operates almost 1,400 stores nationally, and includes other brands such as Autograph, Rivers, W.Lane, Crossroads and Beme.
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In an update to investors, CEO Scott Evans said the stores will be closed by the end of the 2020-2021 financial year.
"Consistent with our comments at the 2020 full-year results announcement, since August we have closed 73 stores in response to unrealistic rental requests and a permanent shift towards online purchases," said Mr Evans.
"We're encouraged that a number of landlords have in recent weeks come to the table on rent reductions but not all have and we expect up to a further 250 store closures by June 2021."
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At this stage it is not clear which brands and which stores will close.
Chairman of Mosaic Brands Richard Facioni told shareholders that the coronavirus pandemic had forced customers "into hibernation".
Despite this, Mr Facioni said the health of staff and customers must come first.
"We've found ourselves in an unfamiliar position, for any retailer, where our customers have wanted to visit our stores but couldn't – and we're saying by and large that's been the best," Mr Facioni.
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"With most restrictions lockdowns now lifted we are confident those customers will stir from that hibernation and resume visiting our loyalty brands.
"Exactly when they will have the confidence to return in-store is still unknown."
During the pandemic Mosaic Brands online sales for the first quarter have lifted 31 per cent, with the group boosting the number of products available for sale online from 150,000 to 250,000.
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