Editor's Note: A last ditch attempt

I don't mean to be the prophet of doom but as is already obvious the first four months of 2009 have not been kind to many Australian fashion businesses - whether big or small.

Week after week we have been reporting the collapse of business after business as the effects of the global credit crunch really start to hit home.

The powers that be which decide when to call in a loan or when to not renew existing lines of credit could not be accused of being discriminatory in whom they set their sights on.

High-end, middle-market and what is kindly referred to as "price-conscience" labels have been caught in the net, as too have fabric manufacturers, wholesalers and brokers. Not even high street or boutique retailers have been spared from the blood letting.

A report in the Financial Review earlier this month thrust the true figures into the open and it too offered little respite.

According to the daily business bible, Australia should brace itself for a "surge in corporate failures" after a 24 per cent rise in the number of companies going insolvent and 13 per cent rise in the number of companies going into administration in February alone.

The report noted that Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) figures showed 1236 companies became insolvent in the second month of the new year - up from 1000 in the same month last year.

In addition 796 companies went into administration in February, up from 706 for the same period in 2008.

The Fin quoted Colin Nicol from corporate advisory firm McGrath Nicol who noted that for every Australian company in administration, there were another five in "work out or restructuring arrangements".

"The statistics are the tip of the iceberg - there are a lot more companies in intensive care, " Nicol told the paper.

"We saw a lot of big companies hit the distress button last year, but now we are seeing more medium sized companies which are in the manufacturing, commercial property and retail space also hitting the button."

To be perfectly honest all this talk of gloom and doom is really getting me down. I have run out of experts, suggestions and words to make things appear better than they really are and to give you some sense of optimism.

The only trick I have left up my sleeve is to encourage you to lead by example. So if you're a fashion business that is managing to weather the storm. If you've adopted a nifty or innovative strategy that has helped you survive the turmoil. Instead of keeping your secrets to yourself, get in touch so that we can collectively can sing your praises.

It can't do any harm.