Specialty Fashion Group to bring Maggie T out of administration

Womenswear label Maggie T has emerged from voluntary administration after being been acquired by retail company Specialty Fashion Group.

Specialty Fashion Group announced on Monday the womenswear brand will be stocked in 175 of its 300 Millers stores across Australia and New Zealand. Ragtrader reports the brand will also be available online from April 23.

The purchase will add another brand to the Specialty Fashion stable, which includes Katie’s, Rivers, City Chic and Crossroads.

Maggie T entered into voluntary administration in January this year, appointing DW Advisory to oversee the process. It was one of the first major Australian retail collapses of 2018 and had 28 bricks-and-mortar stores at the time of its collapse.

Specialty Fashion Group will take ownership of the intellectual property rights to Maggie T, including trademarks, websites and the customer database. However, the company has not acquired Maggie T’s inventory, or employee and lease liabilities.

Millers will allocate a branded ‘Maggie T’ space within its stores, with the goal of giving it a “boutique” feel, the retailer says. Specialty Fashion Group also intends to extend the sizing options available from Maggie T to 8-24 and reduce the selling prices.

“We look forward to bringing our expertise to reinvigorate the brand which was much loved by customers in a segment of the apparel market too often overlooked by fashion,” Specialty Fashion’s chief executive Daniel Bracken said in a statement to Fairfax.

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