Alquemie Group has sold both Surfstitch and Ginger & Smart brands to a mystery buyer.
The company confirmed the news with Ragtrader, saying the sale of these smaller portfolio businesses is a major milestone in delivering on its ‘Simplify to Grow’ strategy, which management and team members have been implementing in recent months.
"This transaction allows Alquemie Group to apply 100% focus on the continued growth of core brands as the business moves forward into the FY26 year.”
Alquemie Group’s core brands include General Pants and Insight, and runs the local arm of Lego and National Geographic. The group is managed by CEO Scott Evans, the former CEO of Mosaic Brands which fell into voluntary administration last year.
Lego now has 23 stores across Australia, while General Pants has 55 stores. Insight clothing is sold through General Pants as well as via The Iconic.
The latest news came as the Surfstitch website remained down for at least a week, leading to speculation over troubled trading.
Documents tabled to ASIC confirm that an external party made a Federal Court application to wind up the Surfstitch business mid-last year. A follow-up document indicates the application was dismissed two months later.
Surfstitch was acquired by Ezibuy in 2018 after it fell into voluntary administration. This then formed into Alquemie Group.
According to a media report by the Australian Financial Review, a source close to the transaction reported that Surfstitch and Ginger & Smart were losing money.
The sell-off also comes three years after Ginger & Smart entered “strategic administration” to resolve some legacy challenges, as then reported by this masthead.
Ginger & Smart was acquired out of administration by Alquemie Group in 2019.