The owners of Kookai, Prouds and Spendless Shoes are among 22 large proprietary companies to pay ASIC infringement notices for allegedly failing to lodge their audited financial reports for the 2025 financial year on time.
Each notice carried a $198,000 penalty. The total across the 22 companies was $4.356 million.
Five of the companies operate in fashion, footwear and jewellery, and paid $990,000 between them. They are Kookai owner Magi Enterprises, Prouds Jewellers, Spendless Shoes, The Shoe Group and Belgravia Group, whose interests span leisure, clothing sales and financial services.
Footwear was the hardest-hit category in the fashion space. The Shoe Group and its subsidiary Spendless Shoes paid $396,000 between them. Spendless founder John Charlton sold the discount chain to Novo Shoes Group in 2019. The Shoe Group now represents 17 footwear brands and retailers across Australia and New Zealand, including Spendless Shoes, Novo and Jo Mercer, and runs more than 400 retail locations with over 2,000 staff.
In 2025, Deloitte administrators completed the sale and recapitalisation of Wittner to The Shoe Group. The group also now holds the Rivers trademark, and it took over Clarks distribution in Australia from January 1, 2026.
Magi is the Melbourne business behind Kookai. The family-owned label was founded in 1992 by Rob Cromb and Danielle Vagner. Kookai opened its first permanent UK store on London’s Carnaby Street this year.
Prouds is owned by New Zealand’s James Pascoe Group, which bought the then 93-year-old jeweller out of administration in 1996.
ASIC noted that payment of an infringement notice does not constitute an admission of guilt or liability. Its investigation remains ongoing where companies have paid but still have outstanding reporting obligations.
The penalties are part of ASIC’s data-focused surveillance of large proprietary companies, which began in August 2025. Since then, the regulator has received payment for 70 infringement notices worth more than $13.7 million.
ASIC engaged with 234 companies in 2026, including retailers. Of these, 193 (82 per cent) had allegedly failed to lodge financial reports for the 2025 financial year. After ASIC’s queries, 147 lodged one or more outstanding reports, most notably in the retail, construction and resources sectors.
Commonly cited reasons included audit-related issues, administrative oversight and inadequate resources. ASIC noted that some companies were unaware of their obligation until contacted.
“Directors are accountable for ensuring their company meets its financial reporting obligations,” ASIC commissioner Kate O’Rourke said. She warned that companies should not assume non-compliance will go undetected, and confirmed the surveillance will continue into 2027.
Around this time last year, ASIC issued infringement notices to 12 major companies for allegedly failing to lodge FY24 financial reports with the corporate regulator on time.
This included three fashion brands, White Fox Boutique, M.J. Bale and Aje.