Australian online retailer Surfstitch owes $13.28 million in total liabilities after its collapse this year.
This is according to the administrators' report filed to ASIC and obtained by Ragtrader. Edwin Narayan and Domenic Calabretta from Mackay Goodwin were appointed as administrators.
Within the owings, $8.27 million is owed to secured creditors, with just over $5 million owed to unsecured creditors.
Among the creditors, administrators reached out to over 50 entities that Surfstich may have owed debts to following a search on the Personal Properties Securities Register (“PPSR”). These include major brands in the apparel and footwear space.
Administrators noted they have yet to hear back from around half of them, which include brands such as Rip Curl, Deus Ex Machina, Adidas, Globe International and Hurley.
The administrators' report also confirms Surfstitch traded at a net loss for the previous five financial years, with sales also declining every year since June 2021. Full-year sales to June 2021 topped $60.1 million, which slipped to $29.8 million in FY24, and fell to $7.95 million in FY25.
Expenses remained elevated above gross profit since June 2022, with operating losses peaking in FY24 at $2.14 million. The operating loss for FY25 was $653,796.
These numbers are based on preliminary investigations by the administrators into Surfstitch’s financial records, extracted from the online management accounts.
The report follows a turbulent few months for the Surfstitch business that resulted in voluntary administration.
In late May 2025, the Australian arm of footwear brand Nike took Surfstitch to the Supreme Court of Victoria over unpaid debts and called for the business to be wound up. Court documents claimed Nike Australia Pty Ltd was owed $237,760.38.
A few weeks prior, the online surf business was sold off alongside its sister apparel brand Ginger & Smart, in a deal that initially commenced with talks in September 2024.
The new owners of both businesses are Best Markets, a specialist asset manager with a number of digital and marketplace businesses. This includes hospitality enterprises such as Linchpin Hospitality Group and another retail business called Mon Purse, a personalised leather goods brand.
According to the administrators' report, the purchase by Best Markets did not include any assets of the company and solely comprised the sale of shares. This included the shares of Surfstitch Pty Ltd, ARG Ginger and Smart Pty Ltd and Alquemie Retail Operations Pty Ltd and did not involve any of the other companies associated with Alquemie Retail Group.
Since the collapse, Best Markets tabled a deed of company arrangement (DOCA), which is attached to the full administrators' report. The DOCA outlines that Best Markets' intention for Surfstitch is to transition the business from a traditional online digital retailer to a standalone marketplace operation.
The report also noted that Best Markets had requested Nike to withdraw its winding-up application and enter payment discussions. Nike rejected the request, citing company policy, and that it would only do so once full payment was made.
“Best Markets made an assessment that to revitalise the business it required a moratorium to consider a wholistic restructure,” the DOCA proposal read.
“Further, given the deterioration in the business since March 2025, Best Markets considered it necessary to appoint an external administrator to the two companies for the purposes of undertaking a restructure.”
The administrators indicated that if the DOCA is accepted, unsecured creditors can expect 4.73 cents on the dollar in return.
A second creditors meeting was held on July 14 this week. Ragtrader has reached out to Mackay Goodwin for an update.