The Australian retail landscape has undergone a seismic shift in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a trail of shut down storefronts and iconic brands in its wake.
As we navigate through the remnants of what was once a bustling marketplace, it’s clear that the past five years have been nothing short of catastrophic for brick-and-mortar retail stores. The question on many of our minds is: Is your favourite store gone forever?
The pandemic disrupted many businesses, pushing them to rethink their presence on the high street and, in some cases, move entirely to online sales.
Others, however, weren’t so lucky and have since joined the graveyard of defunct physical stores. This retail apocalypse has claimed many beloved stores.
Sanity
Sanity, the once-thriving DVD and CD store that began its journey in 1980 as Jetts in Pakenham, Victoria, has now closed its remaining 50 stores to focus on an online-only business model.
While the brand promises to continue offering the same services through its digital storefront, the loss of its physical presence marks the end of an era for music and movie aficionados who relished the in-store experience.
Crossroads
Crossroads and its parent company Mosaic Brands have also felt the brunt of the changing retail environment, winding up several long-standing retailers.
The swimwear brand Seafolly, after collapsing, decided to close its underperforming Sunburn stores in 2020 as part of a restructuring effort. Pavement, a teen clothing brand, entered voluntary administration the same year, later finding a new lease on life through Big W.
Godfreys
Godfreys, a leading vacuum retailer established in 1931, collapsed and shuttered all 50 stores in May of the previous year.
The iconic Australian fashion brand Alice McCall entered liquidation in 2023, closing all its brick-and-mortar stores across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Michel’s Patisserie
Michel’s Patisserie, under the umbrella of Retail Food Group (RFG), is set to close its doors in 2025 after several challenging years.
RFG, which also owns other well-known brands like Donut King and Gloria Jean’s, operates 19 Michel’s franchises across NSW, Queensland, and Victoria that will be converted to the other brands.
Mosaic Brands
Noni B, Katies, and all 136 Rivers clothing stores are among the brands axed by Mosaic Brands, with Rivers set to close by mid-April 2025. Rockmans stores also fell victim to Mosaic Brands’ decision to wind up 200 stores across its portfolio.
Jeanswest is also closing all brick-and-mortar stores, cutting hundreds of jobs as its parent company enters administration.
Harrolds Group
Lastly, the Harrolds Group, operating for nearly 40 years with outlets in Melbourne and Sydney, was placed into liquidation at the start of October. The liquidator cited the difficult post-pandemic economy as the reason for the department store’s collapse.
This retail apocalypse is not just a series of isolated incidents but a reflection of a broader shift in consumer behaviour and the economic impact of the pandemic.
As Australians, we’ve seen many beloved stores come and go, but the scale of this wave of closures is unprecedented.
It’s a stark reminder of the fragility of the retail sector and the importance of adaptability in an ever-changing market.
Will online shopping continue to dominate, or will there be a resurgence of the high street with a new breed of retailers? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: the Australian retail landscape will never be the same again.
We invite you to share your thoughts and memories of the stores we’ve lost. Have you found alternatives, or do you mourn the loss of the in-person shopping experience?
Also read: Clothing retailer Jeanswest collapses, with 90 stores to close and hundreds of jobs lost
Just horrific. My favourite shop Millers has closed. At least Rivers is hanging on for a while.
I don’t understand why.
I think you’ll find Rivers is on temporary hold. It’s all due to prices from China via the internet have cut into the low-price retail outlets in this country. High rents and labour costs have made retailing unprofitable with the inevitable closures.
I also add to that the high cost of energy (lighting etc.) due to our inane net zero BS.
Yes exactly Bowen and albo are totally responsable for these stores going broke the bloody BS net zero which is costing small businesses and and the public billions.Now Bowen is bulldozing the snowy mountains national Park for renewables .these teo idiots are wrecking this country. How people can support these people is beyond belief
NoniB was a favourite of mine now gone. Howard’s Storage at Miranda has closed, lease not renewed as new rent at Westfield too high. Was a great store. If large chain retail stores can’t continue how can solo businesses survive
New industrial relations laws, energy prices, cheap Chinese imports made using coal and nuclear energy.
People even on good wages want to buy off Temu, so why do they expect for there to be jobs for their children and grandchildren in bricks and mortar shops?
I understand why people buy from temu and AliExpress. I needed a new cord for my caravan camera and they wanted 150.00 dollars for it locally
.bought it from AliExpress for 29.00 dollars and it is of good quality we have to be being ripped of by the locals.
In our local country shopping mall we had Rockmans, Millers and Target. Rockmans closed a few years ago and now Millers has closed too. That leaves only Target and the odd shop in Main Street that cannot compete on prices for most shoppers.
I now mainly buy from Innovations catalogues and purchase when the clothes are on special. They offer a generous fit so I drop down one size.
But .. I cannot buy jeans on line as I have a pear shaped figure and need to try them on!
I understand why people buy from temu and AliExpress. I needed a new cord for my caravan camera and they wanted 150.00 dollars for it locally
.bought it from AliExpress for 29.00 dollars and it is of good quality we have to be being ripped of by the locals.