MELBOURNE: The company behind Nine West Australia has revived the fortunes of another US-based footwear brand.
Steve Madden will relaunch into the Australian market this month with the opening of two retail stores in Pacific Fair Shopping Centre (Qld) and Westfield Doncaster (Vic).
The new local Steve Madden licensee is JL Footwear, which also operates Nine West in Australia. The company said it was instigating “a complete relaunch” of the brand on home soil after the former local operators of the brand collapsed into voluntary administration in July 2009.
JL Footwear will open Steve Madden branded stores across Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Queensland, with the company currently hiring staff for stores in Bondi Junction (NSW), Rundle Street (SA) and Melbourne Central (Vic). JL Footwear confirmed it will also establish a Steve Madden e-commerce store.
JL Footwear's acquisition of the local Steve Madden licence comes 12 months after administrators Ferrier Hodgson failed to find a buyer for the struggling business.
In its former guise, Steve Madden Australia operated 34 stores nationally including nine stand-alone stores, 17 Myer concessions and eight outlet sites. The company boasted an annual turnover of $17 million and was overseen by director Tony Pistikakis and managing director Nicholas Pistikakis.
Ferrier Hodgson's final report to creditors in August 2009 revealed that when Steve Madden Australia appointed administrators on July 16, 2009, the company owed ANZ bank $8 million, unsecured creditors $2.1 million and employee benefits worth $562,086. According to administrators, trading revenue had fallen substantially at its outlet sites and stand-alone stores in the 11 months leading up to their appointment.
Steve Madden was founded in 1990 and is currently headquartered in New York. The brand offers shoes for men, women and children with an emphasis on young, urban styles. Steve Madden product is distributed across the US, Canada, Europe, Central and South America and Asia.
Erin O'Loughlin