Download our new app<\/a><\/p>\nThe spectacular unravelling of Cue Clothing \u2014 and its sister label Veronika Maine \u2014 into administration last month marks the end of an empire.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1968 by Rod Levis to capture a growing demographic of women entering the workforce, Cue once boasted a footprint of more than 230 stores and concessions across Australia and New Zealand. <\/p>\n
Now that number has dwindled to just 51, with receivers FTI Consulting already planning to shutter at least five of those locations.<\/p>\n
David Briskin, former chief executive of Sass & Bide, neatly summarised the mood across the industry to The Australian Financial Review, noting that the collapse is \u201cvery sad for the state of Australian retail\u201d.<\/p>\n
But nostalgia doesn\u2019t pay the rent, and one retail expert argues the brand\u2019s downfall was a self-inflicted wound born of an inability to read the room.<\/p>\n
According to Jana Bowden, professor of marketing at Macquarie University, Cue was undeniably the \u201cIT-girl brand\u201d at its cultural peak. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut fashion changed, and Cue didn\u2019t get the memo,\u201d Prof Bowden told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
The pandemic rewired women\u2019s work wardrobes, dissolving the barrier between office and home hours and ushering in a hybrid reality. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no longer about how formal and powerful can I look \u2013 which was the core of the Cue identity,\u201d Prof Bowden said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s workwear is now more about casualisation and how comfy can I be from desk to school pick up, parent duties and dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
With female workforce participation hitting record highs of around 63 per cent, women are juggling careers alongside the lion\u2019s share of unpaid domestic care, the professor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen don\u2019t want restrictive, synthetic heavy and rigid structured clothes to rule their multi-tasking lives; they want comfort, simplicity and everyday,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraditional corporate wear is a thing of the past reserved only for the most formal of occasions, but certainly not the modern workplace. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have changed how we see the world \u2013 we have a lifestyle approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cue failed to change with the times while premium mainstays like Country Road, Witchery, Saba and AJE successfully pivoted, Prof Bowden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHell, even stalwart lifestyle and resort wear brands like Camilla are entering the fray with silk suits for workwear,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Cue, meanwhile, \u201ccouldn\u2019t let go\u201d of the stiff, edgy London mod movement and brand image it had historically tied itself to.<\/p>\n
There were macro factors at play, too. Discretionary cash is tight and there is a \u201csheer oversupply of in-store and online womenswear brands\u201d competing for that spending. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a saturated landscape of over choice,\u201d Prof Bowden said. <\/p>\n
\u201cChuck into the mix lost foot traffic, especially in city stores; shuttering stores, drama, within-company discontent…and you have a rudderless brand spiralling out of control.\u201d <\/p>\n
Family feud erupts<\/p>\n
That \u201cwithin-company discontent\u201d Prof Bowden referred to wasn\u2019t just everyday bickering. <\/p>\n
It was a full-blown family succession war playing out in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.<\/p>\n
At the centre of the storm was Justin Levis, the son of Cue founder Rod Levis. <\/p>\n
For years, Justin served as the company\u2019s executive director and, as The Australian Financial Review noted, had anticipated taking the reins of the 58-year-old empire alongside his sister, Melanie. <\/p>\n
Instead, a dispute erupted over succession plans for the business. <\/p>\n
In a blistering public statement shared with fashion trade publication Ragtrader in April last year, Justin Levis revealed he was suing his parents, seeking a constructive trust over up to 50 per cent of the Cue Clothing Company. The legal dispute is ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter nearly three decades of leadership, I hold no ownership stake in the company I helped build,\u201d Justin said at the time, describing the situation as \u201cdevastating\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c…While I respect his (Rod\u2019s) legacy and the business he built, it is inconceivable that my indispensable decades of leadership, strategic direction, and personal sacrifices have been disregarded and erased.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iconic business sold off<\/p>\n
The business was sold to British-based investor Hilco Capital by the Levis family in April last year.<\/p>\n
Hilco described the receivership as a \u201cdisappointing outcome\u201d, but the only course of action available under the circumstances. <\/p>\n
The receivers said that notwithstanding an increase in sales and other improvements across the group, these were insufficient to mitigate the impact of overhead costs currently in the business.<\/p>\n
The receivers are continuing to trade while they assess the company\u2019s operations and available restructuring options. <\/p>\n
A sale process seeking offers for the business as a going concern will also be launched.<\/p>\n
The upshot, according to Prof Bowden, is that unless womenswear brands are dynamic there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019ll be left behind, and sadly that\u2019s where Cue has ended up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the better part of six decades, slipping into a structured Cue suit was a rite of 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