One of Australia’s best-known women’s fashion retailers has lapsed into voluntary administration, leaving an uncertain future for staff at more than 50 stores.

Sydney-based fashion business Cue Clothing Co, which operates women’s labels Cue and Veronika Maine, was handed to administrators Duncan Clubb and Shaun McKinnon of accounting company BDO on Tuesday.

Kate Warwick and Vaughan Strawbridge of FTI Consulting have been appointed as receivers.

Cue Clothing was founded in 1968 and its labels have a combined total of 51 stores across Australia. The companies’ premium workwear ranges are also sold in department stores Myer and David Jones at dozens of locations.

Inside Retail reports the decision to put the business into administration came about a year after Cue was put up for sale by its new owner, Hilco Capital. The British investment and restructuring advisory company said the decision was “disappointing” but necessary.

“Hilco Capital has made the decision to appoint receivers and managers to Cue and Veronika Maine after a difficult period. It is a disappointing outcome, but the only available course of action given the circumstances,” a spokesperson said.

“Our intention has always been to fund Cue to restore growth and profitability. This appointment will now provide an opportunity for a new owner to carry the Cue and Veronika Maine brands forward.

“I want to acknowledge the efforts of all the staff during a challenging period and thank them for their continuing support of these great Australian fashion brands.”

Cue is running a 25 per cent off sale across its website. Image: Cue

FTI Consulting said Cue Clothing had been overwhelmed by overhead costs. This was despite an increase in sales and other improvements across the business.

Both brands appear to be trying to reduce stock, with Cue running an online promotion discounting 25 per cent storewide and Veronika Maine offering 20 per cent off.

The company will continue trading as administrators look for buyers for the business to ensure staff keep their jobs. Restructuring will also be considered.

But the news sparked a warning for the future of Australia’s fashion industry. South Australian Fashion Industry Association board chair Dr Nathan James Crane said the loss of Cue Clothing was “deeply concerning”.

“Not simply because of the significance of a brand that has been part of the Australian fashion landscape for almost six decades, but because it speaks to the very real pressures facing our industry more broadly,” Crane, who is also an interior architecture lecturer at Adelaide University, told InDaily.

“For an established Australian company with the recognition and history of Cue to find itself in this position should prompt a broader conversation about the conditions we are creating for Australian fashion businesses to remain viable, competitive and ambitious.”

Crane said the collapse reinforced the need to strengthen “the entire fashion ecosystem”.

“[That means] building business capability, supporting local production and skills, encouraging more resilient and circular business models, and ensuring Australian fashion is understood not simply as retail, but as a creative and productive industry that generates employment, intellectual property, cultural value and economic activity,” he said.

Cue Clothing becomes Australia’s latest retail casualty, following the collapse of Barbeques Galore in June, which left 500 workers out of a job.

Barbeques Galore went into voluntary administration in February, with receivers tasked with finding a new buyer. But, while there were several interested parties, no acceptable offers to recapitalise the business had been received by late May.

Cue’s collapse also follows the demise of a lower-end fashion retailer, Mosaic Brands. It collapsed in 2024, taking former big-name brands such as Millers, Rivers, Katies, Noni B and Autograph with it.

-with AAP