Alquemie Group CEO Scott Evans has told Ragtrader that General Pants is now returning to growth after a turnaround during the last 18 months.
In an exclusive interview, Evans says General Pants will open five new stores before the end of 2025, bringing the retailer's total store count to around 50. This is below the brand’s historical peak of total stores, which was around 60 in 2021.
The youth-forward fashion retailer recently opened a new store in Stockland Green Hills in Newcastle, with plans to open another in Townsville Shopping Centre on October 18. Four additional stores are set to open before Christmas.
To mark the opening of Green Hills, General Pants unveiled its ‘Summer Served’ campaign, which included dropping the retailer’s summer collection a week before the rest of the country.
The Newcastle launch was supported by local artists, with graffiti art across the inner store wall, sets by DJ Paper Thin and extensive collaborations with local content creators.
The arrival of General Pants in Townsville will mark the retailer's first store in North Queensland.
This upcoming store growth comes after General Pants suffered a “strong decline” in business performance around two years ago, according to Evans. Alquemie Group had acquired General Pants in 2022 from the Victor Smorgon Group and other parties in a deal reportedly worth $60 million.
In late 2023, Alquemie Group reported a net loss of $2 million for FY23, in documents filed to ASIC. At that time, Alquemie owned or managed a few brands, including General Pants, SurfStitch and Ginger & Smart, as well as a few brand licenses.
At the same time, the group’s sales doubled to $282.8 million in FY23, but this was shaken up by higher trading costs.
Over the last year, Alquemie began downsizing, including selling off its SurfStitch and Ginger & Smart businesses. That came just before SurfStitch was taken to court over unpaid debts by Nike, with the Australian arm of the global footwear brand tabling a winding-up order. Under its new owner, SurfStitch fell into administration and has since exited, according to filings on ASIC.
General Pants faced similar court actions, with two different companies taking the retailer to court, one in 2024 and one in 2025. Both of these have since been resolved.
Amid all this, General Pants has faced media scrutiny over the closure of up to 16 stores since being acquired by Alquemie Group in 2022.
When questioned over the recent troubles facing General Pants, Evans says they are part and parcel when turning around a business. Regarding the closure of its George Street, Sydney store, Evans says the issue was primarily a rise in rent.
“We didn't want to close the George Street store in Sydney,” Evans says. “It's a flagship store. But it has a troubled story, has not made a bunch of money in its history, and the landlord had aspirations that were not what we wanted. Now, we could have stayed there and paid that and lost money, but why would you do that?”
Evans also points out that its store at Westfield Sydney is still open. Following the spate of closures, the Alquemie CEO says the store portfolio review is complete.
As for the recent winding-up order brought against General Pants earlier this year, which has since been resolved, Evans says if he and his team have a disagreement with someone, he’ll let it run all the way to get to the right outcome.
“When you tighten the belt and change things – We used to do it this way, but it's not working, so we've got to do it this way instead – some people don't like that,” Evans says. “Therefore, it can get a little bit challenging to accept that we've got to evolve, otherwise this business would have had a very troubled future.”
Alongside what Evans calls legacy issues, he also reiterates what other fashion retailers have been reporting over the last year: heavy discounting across the Australian fashion market.
General Pants’ website is currently promoting a “take an extra 50 per cent off” sale (at time of writing). But Evans says its stores are now back to full price, with markdowns tucked away in the back of stores.
“The web is a little bit different because you've got quite a different consumer online,” Evans explains. “You've got a consumer that shops for offers, and you've got a consumer that shops full price. Generally, discounting is more prevalent in an online space – at least certainly for us anyway – than it is in brick-and-mortar.”
He also has no intention of getting into a price war with competitors. He says it is a demise as soon as you start that path.
General Pants’ turnaround over the last 18 months has also involved pivoting the branding back to the youth customer. Evans says the brand appeared to have shifted a few years ago to somehow targeting a more mature market, while also not keeping up with demand.
This also included an overhaul of the brand’s marketing, as well as adding new exclusive brands. “It's a lot more youth-focused,” Evans says. “The creative is really engaging – rather than just pictures – and there are a lot more videos.
“We've got a long way to go, but we're certainly seeing the benefits of that.”
Moreover, the new stores being opened in the lead-up to Christmas will include a revised store concept. This includes big LED screens at the front of the store, graffiti walls and discovery areas across the store, while still keeping the brand siloed in their own spaces.
“It's a lot easier to navigate the store than what they were before,” Evans says. “And again, that'll just keep evolving.
“The big takeaway from our Green Hills store launch was how good the graffiti wall is. There are a bunch of people doing selfies there. If we made that easier to do your selfie, it would be even more engaging, right?”
Looking into 2026, Evans says the plan is to add more new brands and potentially move into other categories, as well as new locations. “We're definitely undercooked in some regions. That gives us a good opportunity.”
Evans began as CEO of Alquemie Group in 2024. Prior to that, he was the chief executive of Mosaic Brands for 10 years – the company that managed Noni B, Millers, Rivers, Katies and others. In late 2024, Mosaic fell into voluntary administration and has since fallen into liquidation, with stores and websites closed.
Evans would not respond to questions about his time at Mosaic, saying his key focus is driving General Pants, as well as Alquemie's Australian license with Lego Store.
“I like turnarounds,” he says. “At the end of the day, if you get the product right and you put it in the right spots, you'll do okay. If you don't, you'll end up discounting, and it gets tough.”
Additional store locations for General Pants are expected to be unveiled in the coming months.