Mosaic Brands, the parent of Shepparton’s Rockmans, Katies, Millers, Noni B, Crossroads and Rivers outlets, recorded an underlying loss of $45.8 million for the year to June – leaving the company no choice but to cut costs.
Mosaic Brands Managing director and chief executive Scott Evans said the loss was driven by summer's devastating bushfires and COVID-19 crisis.
“The retail rental market in Australia is not paused because of the pandemic - it is fundamentally changed for the future,” Mr Evans said.
“Some though not all landlords accept that reality, so while exact locations and numbers are to be determined, the group anticipates potentially 300-500 store closures over the coming 12-24 months,” he said.
Mr Evans said store closures would be minimised as much as possible with the exact locations and stores yet to be determined.
“Today’s result does not reflect the consistent growth the group has achieved over the past four years, nor does it reflect our circa 6000-strong team’s hard work and commitment during FY20,” Mr Evans said.
“The devastating bushfires which directly impacted 20 per cent of our store portfolio over the Christmas period, then by COVID-19 which saw us close all 1333 stores for nine-and-a-half weeks including the peak Mother's Day trading period,” he said.
Mr Evans said there was no roadmap to navigate the current circumstances, but the company’s operational priorities were to ensure team and customer safety, reduce inventory and maintain a strong cash position.
However the company's continued investment in the group’s online digital department store strategy did see total digital sales grow to $93.7 million, representing 14.7 per cent growth year-on-year.
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