Retailers like Millers and Noni B shut their doors and thousands of Australians lost their jobs in the collapse of Mosaic Brands. · Source: Facebook
Troubled former fashion retailer Mosaic Brands — behind well known brands like Noni B, Rivers, Katies, Rockmans and Millers — has been ordered to pay $25.05 million by the Federal Court. The company, which is now in liquidation, was found in breach of consumer law, including accepting payment but failing to deliver items to consumers within a reasonable time.
The Federal Court found on Thursday that Australian Consumer Law was breached over a six-month period, with Mosaic Brands wrongfully accepting payment from thousands of consumers.
Mosaic — which at its peak had approximately 7.8 million online members and operated about 800 stores across Australia — failed to deliver 739,114 items within the delivery time specified on its websites across across its nine brands.
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Of these items, 4,213 were not delivered at all, the court found.
“Delivery times matter and it is unacceptable to mislead consumers about this aspect of a sale,” Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
“A large number of Australians – and close to a quarter of online goods ordered from the Mosaic Group were affected by it.
According to the ACCC, more than half of the questioned items were shipped from Mosaic Brands warehouse 30 days or more after ordering, while around a third weren’t shipped for 40 days or more.
“One person who reported to us experienced the dual disappointment of never receiving the goods they’d paid for and then having to wait six months for a refund,” Ms Lowe said.
The ACCC said the company also did not accurately outline reasonable delivery times “due to Mosaic’s deficient and defective warehousing and logistics systems and operations”.
Over a 13 month period between 2021 and 2022, eight of the company’s websites stated consumers were only eligible for a refund for a faulty item if they asked for it within six months of the purchase date.
“Under the Australian Consumer Law, a consumer’s right to a refund for a faulty item does not have a set time limit: it applies for a “reasonable time”, which depends on factors such as the price and quality of the item,” the ACCC said.
Almost 3,000 Australians lost their jobs and 700 retail stores were shuttered across the country following the collapse of the entire Mosaic Brand group.
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Administrators confirmed the final two fashion brands Millers and Noni B would be shutting their doors after failing to find a new buyer in January.
Mosaic Brands entered voluntary administration in October 2024 and entered liquidation in July 2025.
It confirmed five of its brands — Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, W.Lane and BeMe — would be shut down. This was followed shortly after by Katies and Rivers after administrators were unable to find a new owner for the chains.
A notice to creditors which came out in February 2025 found the total debt for the fashion retailer to be more than $318 million.
More than 2800 staff who worked across Mosaic’s Australian and New Zealand stores are owed $22 million. Receivers and managers KPMG said at the time this will likely be paid in full.
Secured creditors are likely to reclaim the $54 million they are owed however, for 613 unsecured creditors there’s a $242 million hole.
Whatever is left over will be divided among them.
Mosaic Brands were found in breach of consumer law after its collapse into liquidation.
The ACCC commenced the latest proceedings against Mosaic Brands in the Federal Court in March 2024.
The matter has been undefended since January this year.
Mosaic Brands had been forced to pay a total of $896,400 for infringement notices issued by the ACCC in 2021 and 2022.
The ACCC said the latest penalties against Mosaic should serve as a warning to other retailers.
“All online retailers should be aware that excessive delivery delays after accepting payment can lead to penalties of this magnitude,” Lowe said.
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