Latest news with #MosaicBrands
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Shirley always wanted to run a clothing factory. She says this Australian fashion giant killed her dream
Following the collapse of Australian fashion retailer Mosaic Brands, and its much-loved labels such as Katies and Noni B, Dateline meets the suppliers who say they lost nearly everything. Watch Part Two of the two-part investigation, The Cost of Doing Business, on Tuesday 19 August at 9.30pm on SBS or live on SBS On Demand . Watch Part One now on SBS On Demand . The Cost Of Doing Business: Part 1 Shirley Lu had always adored fashion and dreamed of one day running her own factory in Shenzen, China. When she had the chance to work with Australian retail giant Mosaic Brands, she was thrilled. Mosaic owned 10 labels including Rivers, Katies, Noni B and Millers after a period of expansion between 2014 and 2018. By 2019, the company had 1,400 stores, employed 7,000 people and worked with hundreds of suppliers in Australia and overseas. "I thought Mosaic was a very famous company in Australia," she told Dateline. However in September 2023, her first invoice went unpaid. "I saw my shoes for sale on Rivers' official website but when my payment was due, no one got back to me … From September through October, I contacted them every single day by phone and email. But no one answered me." By March 2024, she says she received US$40,000 (around $62,000) after being put on a payment plan by Mosaic, but it wasn't enough to cover her expenses. "They took my goods but refused to pay. I was so miserable and broken, because I had to pay for the workers' wages." Fashion supplier Shirley Lu was initially excited to work with an Australian company the size of Mosaic Brands. Source: SBS Shirley borrowed money from her sister to cover some of her costs, but her sister was later diagnosed with breast cancer and needed the money back. "I told them, I need this money for my loved ones to survive … but they didn't reply." "We all felt that our world had come crashing down." Mosaic Brands in financial trouble The company had been reporting mostly modest profits to the ASX and in 2022, CEO Scott Evans took home a salary package of over $2 million. Noni B stores across Australia have closed down after the label's owner Mosaic Brands went into administration in October 2024. Insolvent trading is when a company is unable to pay existing debts while taking on new ones. It is illegal in Australia because of the harm it can inflict on unsuspecting businesses. However, Mosaic was using a legal protection called 'safe harbour', which enables a company to keep trading while its directors take steps to rescue the business. In recent years, the retail climate in Australia has been hit by a perfect storm of COVID-19, cost of living pressures and the rise of online shopping. This year alone, 800 Australian retailers have gone bust. According to the report to creditors, Mosaic used safe harbour protection on and off for a period of four and half years. While in safe harbour, a publicly-listed company doesn't have to disclose their insolvency to shareholders or suppliers. 'A kind of blackmail' Harry Wang also says he didn't know that Mosaic Brands was in financial trouble. He first began making shoes for Rivers from his factory in Xiamen, China, back in 2012. He says when Mosaic acquired the Australian brand in 2018, things changed. But he says it wasn't until 2022 that he stopped getting paid on time for the goods he supplied. Harry Wang says Mosaic Brands now owes him US$6.2 million (around $9.5 million). Source: SBS Harry says he felt pressured to continue to supply goods or he would face loss of sales claims or non-payment for the goods he had already supplied. "We have no choice. We'd be pushed to deliver the goods. Otherwise, we really don't have any payment … So we have to keep on supplying them," he told Dateline. "That's a trick for all the suppliers … a kind of blackmail." Harry says he was also issued with US$4.5 million (around $6.9 million) worth of loss of sales claims due to reported delivery delays or faulty goods from 2022 to 2024. Harry settled these claims at the time with Mosaic, but alleges they were excessive. He says Mosaic Brands now owes him US$6.2 million (around $9.5 million): US$4.2 million (around $6.5 million) in unpaid invoices accrued between 2022 and 2024, and US$2 million (around $3 million) in stock that he's already made, including 80,000 pairs of shoes stocked in his warehouse that may never be delivered. Harry's office staff has been reduced from 15 to four, while one of the factories he works with is in 'a state of shutdown'. Harry says the stress has placed a huge strain on his marriage and family life. "This is a very, very big lesson for all the Chinese suppliers … Don't trust anybody. That's the lesson we got," he says. "All of our wealth, after all our hard work, was suddenly wiped out by them. "I'm so sad." This is a very, very big lesson for all the Chinese suppliers … Don't trust anybody. Harry Wang Mosaic 'deeply disappointed and upset' When Mosaic entered administration in October 2024, its 10 labels and then-650 stores closed for good. Among the company's losses, Mosaic owed an estimated $US50 million (around $77 million) to suppliers in China, according to the Mosaic Brand creditor list from 8 November. Suppliers in China, Bangladesh and Australia are coming together to demand answers and call for a public inquiry into the actions of Mosaic Brands. Former Mosaic Brands CEO Scott Evans declined Dateline's request for an interview and did not provide any detailed answers to questions we put to him. Through his lawyers, he said: "Given the current circumstances of the company it is difficult ... to provide substantive comments." "Based on some of the questions and propositions that have been put to me, there seems to be material misinformation about the company, which I believe will be clarified in the fullness of time." Scott Evans when he was CEO of Noni B in 2014. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins He added that during his 10 years as CEO he "had the privilege of working alongside literally thousands of hardworking team members ...and suppliers". And that he was "deeply disappointed and upset to see Mosaic Brands enter administration". No adverse findings have been laid against any Mosaic Brands directors. 'More likely to get bitten by a shark' As the Mosaic Brands administration process unfolds, Professor Jason Harris, an insolvency expert at The University of Sydney Law School, warns that suppliers are unlikely to get any money back. Nor is the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) likely to take action, he adds. "You're more likely to get bitten by a shark on George St in Sydney than you are to be prosecuted for insolvent training," he told Dateline. "The problem we have in Australia is there are so few cases where ASIC is taking action, or where liquidators have the funding to take action, that the bad guys out there know they're likely to get away with it. "More than 90 per cent of companies that go into liquidation give nothing to unsecured creditors. "There's all the laws we need to address this poor behaviour. What we don't have is effective enforcement of those laws." Harris adds that Mosaic Brands' use of safe harbour could be the first real test case for this law. While there is no time limit or expiry on the use of safe harbour, it relies on company directors and their advisers knowing when a business can't be saved. Harris says while it's hard to comment on Mosaic's specific situation without being across all the information, four years "stretches credulity". "If you're still having the same problems four and a half years later, then clearly it's not working... "Where were the gatekeepers?" A release issued on behalf of the Mosaic Brands board of directors last year, in response to previous reports the company had been using safe harbour protections, said its directors take their duties seriously, and did seek advice on the applicability and compliance with the safe harbour provisions. ASIC did not respond to Dateline's specific questions, but says it continues to monitor the administration of Mosaic Brands. Ongoing struggles Meanwhile, Dateline has spoken to 50 suppliers across Australia, China, Bangladesh and India who all say the way Mosaic Brands conducted business was unethical. In Shenzen, Shirley is still struggling to rebuild her life. To pay back her sister and cover her costs, she mortgaged her home. But she says Mosaic still owes her US$60,000 (around $92,000). Her dreams of growing her business and one day owning her own factory are now shattered. "I had delivered the products on time, on quality, to Mosaic," she says. "But I never imagined that they would cheat with my goods and not pay me." * Some of the debts referenced by suppliers in this story are disputed, with creditors' debts to be finalised as part of the administration process.
Sky News AU
14-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Major Aussie retailer forced to close stores in Sydney following plummeting sales
Fashion store Country Road will close down stores in Sydney following plummeting sales, making them the latest brand to hit hard times in Australian retail. The popular chain will close down a key store in Queen Victoria Building in Sydney's CBD as its owner Woolworths Holdings Limited looks to minimise costs. Sales dropped by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks into December 29. Operating profits plummeted 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road's Pitt Street Mall store will also close in 2028 when the lease expires. Sister brand Trenery will close down its store in Mosman on Sydney's Lower North Shore. Country Road began in 1974 as a niche women's shirting business. It grew into Australia's first lifestyle brand renowned for stylish, high-quality apparel, accessories and homeware. The brand was bought by Woolworths in 2014. Country Road has 653 stores across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The closures come amid the collapse of multiple retailers across the country. Mosaic Brands went into voluntary administration on October 28, with KPMG Australia appointed as the company's receivers. All 80 Katies stores, owned by Mosaic Brands, will be shut down following the major decision, with 80 other stores from their other brands Millers, Rivers and Noni B also to close their doors. About 480 employees lost their jobs, with closures occurring in mid-January this year. "The decision was made following a review of the performance of Katies as a brand and the wider store network,' KPMG said in a statement. "The stores identified to close have been loss-making, resulting in the decision to close them in January. 'The receivers and managers would like to thank all employees, particularly those whose tenure is coming to an end, for their commitment and support through the receivership process.' Prior to the store closures, Mosaic already announced the closure of Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, and BeMe brands, shutting down 231 stores as it tried to stay afloat. The company had about 700 stores nationwide before calling in administrators.
ABC News
30-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Collapse of Mosaic Brands hurts female factory workers in Bangladesh
Creditors owed more than $361 million are set to vote on the future of failed Australian retail giant Mosaic Brands, as Bangladeshi garment suppliers flag mass lay-offs as the result of millions in unpaid orders. Bangladeshi factory owner Jabed Ahmed faces debt of around $2.5 million after Mosaic, which owns Noni B, Millers and Rockmans among other brands, went into voluntary administration in October last year. He told the ABC his company, Padma Satel Arab, has had to fire around 500 workers as a result. "We are taking out loans, have had to cut some of the workers," Mr Ahmed said. "Other [suppliers] have already closed down." At least 23 factory owners in Bangladesh were owed a total of $US19.93 million ($30 million) by Mosaic when the company went under. Months later, the costs and fallout have snowballed. Mosaic's administrators FTI Consulting have recommended liquidation of Mosaic and its brands, which also include Rivers and Pretty Girl Fashion Group. More than 4,000 Australian employees from over 600 stores across the country will be paid as a priority, according to Australian law. Darren Vardy, director of Insolvency Options, which is representing the creditors, said factories and workers overseas were likely to get nothing. Under the best-case scenario outlined in the report, they will get back 17.5 per cent of what they are owed. Yet the collapse of Mosaic Brands has left a trail of devastation in Bangladesh. Factory owners have been forced to sack workers and face mounting pressure from local banks after millions in orders went unpaid. For the Bangladeshi suppliers in Mosaic's supply chain owed millions, around 40,000 workers are affected, according to a letter sent to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Association. Around 80 per cent of the country's 4.4 million garment sector workers are women. FTI Consulting's initial report to creditors said Mosaic Brands had likely been trading for years while insolvent. This carries serious penalties under Australia's Corporations Act. The report also notes the company had been claiming safe harbour for trading after the pandemic. Any legal action over insolvent trading could hold some or all directors personally liable, forcing them to repay from their own pockets. FTI Consulting also raised concerns over improper financial reporting. University of Sydney law professor Jason Harris, who researches insolvency, said the case exposed serious regulatory and governance failures. "I'd also raise the question of why more wasn't made of the audit report," he said. "I thought the auditors raised serious concerns about the viability of the business several years ago." Mosaic said in August last year that consultancy firm Deloitte had been advising the company on refinancing considerations. Bangladeshi factory owner Nafis Ud Doula, from Impress Newtex Textiles, said Mosaic had strung him along with new orders. "They were tying us up with new orders just to get old payments," Mr Doula told the ABC. "They bought a lot of product from us. They kept extending payment terms — from 90 days to 120, even 180 — and still didn't pay. "They just kept saying 'don't worry, the payment is coming, just make this order,'" Mr Doula said. Mosaic Brands did not reply to the ABC's requests for comment. Former Mosaic director Scott Evans, who served from 2014 until early 2024, also did not respond to the ABC's inquiries. FTI Consulting's report showed that between 2021 and October 2024, Mosaic experienced cash flow difficulties and only recorded a surplus in one month of that period. Gazi Abdullah Al Mustafiz, merchandising manager of SMUG Sweater, is owed more than $2 million for garments already delivered or sitting idle on factory floors. In Bangladesh's garment industry, factories rely on complex financing mechanisms tied to letters of credit that are needed for international trade payments. When a brand like Mosaic places an order, suppliers buy fabric and raw materials using credit from local banks. Those banks, in turn, continue collecting repayments on loans — regardless of whether the overseas buyer pays up. "They haven't given any payment date," Mr Al Mustafiz said. "After shipping goods, we're supposed to be paid within 60 days. The bank sends reminders to the Australian bank, Commonwealth Bank — but there's no reply." The result is a spiralling debt crisis: suppliers trapped between unrelenting loan repayments and millions in unpaid invoices for goods already received by Mosaic and its companies in Australia. Safe harbour laws protect directors from personal liability for insolvent trading if certain conditions are met. Mosaic could prove a test case of Australia's safe harbour provisions, which were only introduced in 2017, Professor Harris said. Mosaic Brands invoked temporary safe harbour protections between March 25, 2020 and March 31, 2021 — introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the administrators, Mosaic continued to rely on safe harbour "from time to time" even after the pandemic. FTI Consulting said it was "not clear" whether the company's directors met the legal criteria for protection "at all times" and said further investigation was required. Back in Bangladesh, NRN Knitting and Garments senior merchandiser Moin Uddin is one of the worst-affected factory owners. He said more than $3 million worth of garments had been shipped to Australia without payment, while finished stock sat in his warehouse. "It doesn't just hurt factory owners … it disrupts the entire system," said Mr Uddin, whose factory employed 1,500 workers. With payments frozen, he is now struggling to pay their monthly wages. Factory owners have sent a letter to the Australian High Commission in Bangladesh about what they are owed. Mr Ahmed had planned to modernise production lines and invest more in sustainability, which he has had to put on hold. "It's not just business — it's people's lives," he said.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Iconic Australian surfwear brand SurfStitch collapses - as Nike launches legal action
Nike will take surfwear retailer SurfStitch to court in an effort to recover hundreds of thousands in allegedly unpaid debt. The sportswear giant filed an application for the winding up of SurfStitch in May, and the company entered voluntary administration on June 6, documents from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) show. Administrators Edwin Narayan and Domenic Calabretta of Mackay Goodwin have been appointed. SurfStitch has previously returned to business from administration but the court could order the company into liquidation. Nike Australia sought a winding-up order against SurfStitch, claiming it is owed $237,760, according to Supreme Court of Victoria documents, reported the Herald Sun. The matter is scheduled to be heard next week. SurfStitch was sold by its former parent company, Alquemie Group, to an undisclosed buyer in May last year. 'We understand the new owners have subsequently appointed voluntary administrators,' an Alquemie Group spokesperson said. SurfStitch's website has been offline for a number of weeks, it states the site is 'currently undergoing maintenance'. 'We expect to be back soon. Thanks for your patience,' a notice reads. The proceedings come after a lengthy series of financial troubles for SurfStitch. The business previously collapsed in 2018, one year after appointing administrators in 2017. The retailer was acquired in 2018 by Alceon Retail Bidco, now known as Alquemie Retail Operations, a subsidiary of Alquemie Group. The group also includes LEGO Certified Stores, General Pants Co. and National Geographic Stores, the latter of which quietly departed the Australian market in October last year. In May last year, Alquemie sold SurfStitch and fashion label Ginger & Smart to a mystery buyer. The collapse follows a raft of other fashion retailers faltering in recent years. Australian clothing giant Mosaic Brands went bust last year owing almost $250million. Before going into administration, Mosaic announced it would shut down its brands Autograph, BeMe, Crossroads, Rockmans and . The closures were intended to focus resources on its other brands Katies, Millers, Noni B and Rivers, however, those brands have also since folded. Mosaic Brands had more than 700 stores and 10 online shops, employing hundreds of people. Among its creditors were more than a dozen Bangladeshi garment factories, owed tens of millions of dollars, with concerns those workers would be sent into poverty.
SBS Australia
20-06-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
'Berserk' factories, debts and excuses: Suppliers of collapsed Australian fashion giant speak out
Annabell Mihic (left) and Jayson Haydon say Mosaic Brands' inability to pay their invoices on time had mammoth impacts on their businesses. Source: Supplied There will be more to come on the collapse of Mosaic Brands in Dateline's two-part investigation, The Cost of Doing Business, coming soon to SBS and SBS On Demand . Annabell Mihic loved fashion. In 2001, while pregnant with twins, she set out to make her dream a reality, launching her first clothing business, Faith Fashion, with just $600. By 2014, she'd found success working with factories in Bangladesh sourcing designs, fabrics and clothes for retail companies Pretty Girl Fashion Group and Specialty Fashion, owners of some of Australia's major heritage brands such as Noni B, Katies, Rockmans and Millers. "I picked up my children from school, every mother was wearing a pair of jeans from Rockmans in a different colour, and a sweater or knitwear that was just beautifully created by the team," Sydney-based Annabell told Dateline. Jayson Haydon, also in Sydney, was another riding the high of Australia's booming fashion scene with his company On Trend. Focusing on factories in China, he was also supplying Pretty Girl Fashion Group and Specialty Fashion, making clothes for brands such Noni B, Rockmans, Autograph, Millers and W-Lane. "We would have to get all of the patterns made — everything that they needed — in China, all the trims, the buttons, the zippers, the cottons, whatever, for the garment supply," he told Dateline. "We had to make decisions in 10 minutes for $10 million. I just enjoyed all those aspects of it." Annabell and Jayson were among a handful of Australian entrepreneurs pioneering offshore manufacturing at a time when the country's fashion industry was experiencing rapid growth. Known as buying agents, they'd become essential middlemen to a new kind of supply chain, helping to connect big retailers with offshore garment factories to deliver high quantities of good-quality, low-cost clothes to Australian consumers. It was a ticket to success. Jayson said his business "grew and grew and grew". "The first year in 2010 our turnover was $17k ... by 2012 it was about $3 million and about $5.8 million the year after that." "If On Trend was famous for anything, it was always on time, good quality, no drama, good communication and honesty." But Annabell and Jayson say things started to unravel for them after a new retail giant started to emerge from 2014, when Scott Evans, a retail executive and Richard Facioni, a former Macquarie Group banker, joined forces to buy up the fashion companies Annabell and Jayson once supplied. With backing by the financier Alceon Group, Evans and Facioni first bought Noni B, becoming its CEO and chairperson respectively. Then between 2014 and 2019, with Luka Softa as their CFO, they continued a mission to become Australia's largest fashion retailer by snapping up many of the country's mid-tier fashion groups — Pretty Girl Fashion in 2016, then EziBuy in 2017 and Speciality Fashion Group in 2018 — before merging and rebranding them all under one name: Mosaic Brands. It was during this takeover phase that Annabell and Jayson said everything changed. Annabell and Jayson say the day Evans and Facioni took over Pretty Girl Fashion Group their payment terms were immediately extended. "We received a phone call from a buyer in Pretty Girl Fashion Group who said there's been a takeover and our payment terms have completely changed," Annabell said. "It's now 120 days." These new contract negotiations meant Annabell was no longer paid 30 days after her goods were shipped. She now had to wait 120 days. We received a phone call from a buyer who said our payment terms have completely changed. Annabell Mihic But it didn't stop there. Annabell says her terms were later extended to 200 days and, in some circumstances, more than 300 days — meaning it was almost a year before she would receive payment for the goods she supplied. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has advocated for 30-day payment terms as an industry standard for small businesses, arguing it's crucial for their financial health. This extension of payment terms placed enormous pressure on Annabell's supply chain. The factories she worked with overseas, their workers and material suppliers were all now waiting longer to get paid too. "It's a vicious cycle," Annabell said. "I can't give the money to the factories. [Which means] the factories can't open letters of credit [with their banks] for the goods that they are going to make. It was a nightmare." Annabel and Jayson say they signed up to Mosaic Brands' terms because the group now owned all the brands they supplied. Jayson said the situation placed incredible pressure on his business and the factories he worked with, which refused to supply him the goods he needed without payment. "You have to dance with your finance company ... so they understand you're under duress. "Factories go berserk ... trying to hold you [to] ransom." Factories go berserk ... trying to hold you [to] ransom. Jayson Haydon These lengthy payment terms benefited the buyers like Pretty Girl Fashion and latterly Mosaic Brands by freeing up cash for their business. But multiple sources from within the fashion industry told Dateline these extended payment terms are untenable in an industry that relies on garment manufacturers taking on huge upfront costs to kickstart the production process, placing too much pressure on businesses throughout the supply chain. One industry insider said Mosaic Brands' extended payment terms: "have given the Australian fashion industry a bad name". Come 2018, Annabell and Jayson told Dateline, they stopped being paid on time. Invoices with already-stretched payment terms would fall due, and they still would not see any money. When Annabell chased her payments, she received various excuses. "They couldn't find the invoice, the invoices weren't matching ... We used our own forwarder, they couldn't find [the invoice]. We used their forwarder, they still couldn't find it," she said. Freight forwarders are a crucial link in the supply chain who help facilitate the movement of goods from origin to destination and, in turn, trigger when a payment should fall due. Annabel and Jayson said they found themselves in a cycle that ultimately ran them into the ground. They had mounting interest and debt with financiers, while factories and suppliers in Bangladesh and China were chasing them for their own payments. In response to their desperate requests to be paid, Annabell and Jayson said they were met with endless excuses from Mosaic Brands. Annabell said she felt financially intimidated, trapped and like she was to blame. "Nothing about how I have been treated has been normal to me. I don't feel that any other retailer, Australian or international, that I've worked with has ever done that." I don't feel that any other retailer ... that I've worked with has ever done that. Annabell Mihic By 2020, Jayson said Mosaic Brands owed him $8 million in unpaid invoices. The following year, in 2021, he was forced to put his company On Trend into voluntary administration and ultimately, liquidation — selling everything he could to cover his debts in Australia. But he could never pay back the companies he owed money to in China. "If I won Lotto, I would just give 'em the money. But I don't have that sort of money. US$6 million is a lot of dollars and ... I'd already sold everything. I sold cars ... anything that I could liquidate. I just kept my home, " Jayson said. He added that some of the factories in China were able to recoup their money through insurance, but others went under. Dateline sought comment from Evans, Facioni and Softa, but they all declined. A year after Jayson, Annabell lost everything too. In 2022, she placed her business Faith Fashion into liquidation. For Annabell, things reached their worst when she was owed around US$8 million in unpaid invoices for goods supplied to Mosaic Brands. "It's not my money, I'm just a glorified bank; I was the agent. It's the factories, it's the people that made the clothes. It wasn't my money, I let them down," Annabell said, crying as she recalled the responsibility she still feels. It's the factories, it's the people that made the clothes ... I let them down Annabell Mihic To this day, she said she's still owed US$200,000 in missing unpaid invoices. Both Annabell and Jayson said Mosaic Brands' inability to pay their invoices on time was one of the main reasons they lost their businesses. Dateline has spoken to multiple suppliers to Mosaic Brands, not just in Australia but in China, Bangladesh and India, who all said they faced similar payment delays and mounting debts. At least one factory owner in Bangladesh, one agent in China, and one factory in India say they have also lost their businesses due to Mosaic Brands' late payments and related issues. It's cost hundreds of jobs — and income for many more family members. Several other large and mid-size factories spoken to in Bangladesh, which employ thousands of local workers, say they are now also on the brink of collapse. Last week, administrators for Mosaic Brands issued a preliminary finding that the company may have been operating while insolvent for four years before the company's collapse. Insolvency is when a company can no longer pay its debts and it's illegal to trade under these circumstances, according to the Corporations Act. There are serious penalties for allowing a company to trade while insolvent. Mosaic Brands' directors are yet to comment on the findings of the report. However, the report acknowledges that the directors sought to rely on safe harbour and COVID-19 provisions at times. If established, these protections could amount to a defence against any potential director liability for trading whilst insolvent. A release issued on behalf of the Mosaic Brands board of directors last year, in response to previous reports the company had been using safe harbour protections, said its directors take their duties seriously, and did seek advice on the applicability and compliance with the safe harbour provisions. For Annabell, the FTI's latest report doesn't go far enough. "This failure did not begin with COVID. It began in 2018, when Mosaic acquired Specialty Fashion Group — a large and aggressive expansion that placed enormous pressure on cash flow and supplier relationships," she said. "What happened to me — and to so many other suppliers — was the result of sustained financial mismanagement ... and decisions that transferred risk down the chain while protecting those at the top." Annabell said she raised her issues with the Australian Competiton and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Small Business Ombudsman and Australia's Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as early as 2019, which all amounted to nothing. She said the outcome has been a bitter pill to swallow. "We are not collateral damage. We are the people who made this supply chain work. We fulfilled contracts. We trusted in good faith — and we were left unpaid." Dateline contacted the ACCC, which said it currently has a matter before the courts with Mosaic Brands anad does not comment on complaints or potential investigations. The Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman said it can't comment on the detail or outcome of individual cases. It also said the information Annabell Mehic provided them at the time helped "the advocacy work undertaken by ASBFEO on the Payment Times Reporting Scheme and our advocacy for improved payment times to help cashflow issues". An ASIC spokesperson said they are aware "that Mosaic Brands Limited went into external administration in October 2024 and of the Report to Creditors issued by the external administrator, FTI Consulting, on 13 June 2025 and they continue to monitor the matter". Watch now Share this with family and friends
