The intellectual property and customer database of women’s clothing retailer Meredith & Moore have been sold to another retail group, after Meredith & Moore closed its stores in April.
Meredith & Moore customers were informed on Wednesday about the sale of “various intellectual property rights” associated with the business to Premier Apparel Group.
According to the Australian Business Register, Premier Apparel Group Pty Ltd trades under the business names Matisse Designer Outlet and Matisse Ready to Wear.
Meredith & Moore, which was found in 1962, collapsed into voluntary administration at the end of March and by April 22, had informed its customers it would be closing “for good”.
Records from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show a resolution was passed on May 4 to voluntarily wind up Meredith (Australia) Pty Ltd and Meredith Clothing Group Pty Ltd.
In an email to customers on Wednesday afternoon, Meredith & Moore administrators PPB Advisory said Premier Apparel Group “intends to continue to sell some of the products associated with Meredith and Moore”.
Customers were told they have until July 7 to opt out of receiving future commercial messages from Premier Apparel Group.
“If you do not opt-out … by 5pm (AEST) on 7 July 2016, then the administrators will proceed on the basis that you authorise and consent to receive commercial messages from Premier Apparel Group and authorise and consent to the disclosure of your information,” PPB Advisory said in the email.
At the time voluntary administrators were appointed, Meredith & Moore had a customer database of around 15,000 people.
The retailer had 17 stores in Australia and several outlets in New Zealand at the time and in the 2014-15 financial year, Meredith & Moore turned over around $9.2 million.
Meredith & Moore had continued to trade throughout the voluntary administration.
However, in the space of weeks all stock was being sold at $30 or less per item in a closing down sale, and the business stopped taking orders online.
SmartCompany contacted PPB Advisory and Matisse Ready to Wear but did not receive a response prior to publication.
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Eloise is an experienced business journalist and editor, who has held senior editorial roles at SmartCompany since 2014. Prior to joining SmartCompany, Eloise was news editor at Books+Publishing, the trade press for the Australian book industry. Eloise has degrees in media and communications, marketing and business management, and political science. You can follow her on LinkedIn, and Twitter at @ellykeating.
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