Charles Parsons rebuilds Line 7

NEW ZEALAND: The new owner of Line 7 has announced that rebuilding relationships with retailers “bruised” by supply chain issues during the label’s receivership is a primary goal.

Australian and New Zealand-operated fabric giant Charles Parsons purchased the New Zealand-based marine apparel label in October after it was placed into receivership on June 29, with its Australian arm wound up four days later. During this period, retail orders across its some 100 Australian stockists were disrupted. 

Charles Parsons group managing director Andrew Mills said improving the brand’s channels through to market will be key to its recovery.

“The manufacturing, the product and what it stands for are already well established,” Mills said.
Line 7 had some internationally high-profile yachting clients, but Charles Parsons’ immediate focus was to rebuild domestic strength, with wholesale growth on the cards, he said.

Essential to this move will be to gather a larger Australian team with specific knowledge of the marine apparel field to facilitate local operations, Mills said Where possible, former Australian staff will be rehired, but the slow dissolution of the brand’s existence in Australia meant some had dispersed.

Recapturing Line 7’s heritage will also be a primary goal, Mills said. He believed the brand’s previous owners had drifted towards pitching to a young, trendy market, but future marketing will centre on garment performance and quality.

“If you see Line 7 you should think performance and coastal living. We need to take it back to what it was originally founded on and understood for. That’s not to say we won’t produce nice garments.”

Mills said Charles Parsons previously supplied product to Line 7, so it will initially return to the market with some existing, successful styles. Continuing to deliver waterproof qualities and sealed-seaming will be key, with merino wool introduced as a base layer material.

The brand will function as an independent division within Charles Parsons, with Line 7 head operations in New Zealand to be maintained. 

The announcement coincided with news that former Line 7 Australia employees had received letters of pay entitlement from Sydney-based administration group Korda Mentha on November 11, nearly five months after the collapse.

One former employee, who requested not to be named, said the letter outlined entitlements for annual leave, redundancy pay and holiday pay. They were requested to check, sign and return the letter.

A spokesperson for Korda Mentha said all funds had been collected on behalf of the former employees and as soon as the letters are returned, entitlements will be paid.

Charles Parsons was established in 1915 in Sydney and has a number of textile and apparel companies under its umbrella.

Melinda Oliver