Did Australia’s Rivers, Katies and Noni B die of natural causes?
Not much is known about the woman who started it all.
Noni Broadbent set up her first store in New South Wales near Newscastle.
It was a small affair aimed at servicing customers where she lived, styling Australian women in high quality clothing.
Ms Broadbent worked on the operation for years, even expanding to a second location, and was regarded for giving her customers “the best service in town”.
Ms Broadbent named her venture Noni B — however, she wasn’t the one who would go on to make it a household name.
Brands including Rivers, Millers, Katies and BeMe all operated under Noni B Group, which later became Mosaic. (Dave Hunt)
Rather, a Croatian stockfeed chemist would be responsible for the rise of the brand and its impact on the Australian fashion landscape over the next 80 years.
Brands including Rivers, Millers, Katies and BeMe all operated under Noni B Group — later Mosaic Group — and it would go on to have about 1,000 stores nationwide and employ more than 2,000 Australians before its collapse last year.
So, how did such a staple of Australian fashion lose it all?
The man who made Noni B’s name
Alan Kindl was a Croatian refugee who moved to Blacktown in Sydney in the 1950s.
Rockmans was brought into the fold in 2016. (Australian Women’s Weekly)
He worked as a stockfeed chemist after earning a degree in chemistry and quantum physics from the University of New South Wales, and was married with a young family when a friend came to him with an opportunity.
There was a store in Belmont, New South Wales, owned by local woman Noni Broadbent, they could buy together.
Never having worked in retail before, it was a leap for Mr Kindl, but he said he had been chasing a “change” in his lifestyle and women’s fashion fit the mould.
He bought the store in 1977, and set Noni B on its path to becoming a major player in Australian women’s fashion.
Noni B was the first brand in Alan Kindl’s retail portfolio, and was soon built out as the Noni B Group. (Westfield Whitfords City)
The empire is built
Mr Kindl and his partner set up 38 Noni B stores in New South Wales and Victoria by 1989, and he told the Australian Financial Review his philosophy:
“Find out what the buggers want, and give them all you can,” he said.
Mr Kindl later bought out his partner for $1.2 million with a view towards expanding the Noni B brand.
“I close my eyes and I can see a five-foot-four woman, size 12 or 14 and how she looks, and that is our customer,” he said.
Noni B wasn’t the only brand targeting the new working class of Australian women.
Brands such as Rockmans, City Chic and Katies all had the same customer in mind as Mr Kindl, and the Noni B Group purchased a number of them in different sales throughout the 2010s.
Many of the stores bought up by Mosaic Group already had established reputations, and many catered to women’s fashion exclusively. (Facebook)
However, as the Noni B Group expanded, so did the impact of the internet.
“Australians who don’t buy something online are now in the minority,” Queensland University of Technology professor Jennifer Craik said in a 2015 thesis.
“Online sales are increasing, with 10 per cent of Australian women buying online fashion products in any four-week period.”
As more shoppers moved online and to international outlets, fast fashion also cut into the bottom line of more traditional retailers.
By 2014, Noni B’s share price had taken a dive to 45 cents — an all time low for the stock — and Mr Kindl opted to sell the group to private investment firm Alceon.
Alceon executive director Richard Facioni predicted the group had five years to get its house in order.
“The business is far from broken but it’s certainly had a tough 12 months,” he said.
The Noni B Group was rebranded to Mosaic Group in 2019.
The bleed starts slowly
Mosaic Group continued buying up brands but its growth ground to a halt during the pandemic when it lost about $170 million due to the shutdown of retail stores.
In the company’s 2023 annual report, now-chairman Mr Facioni signalled the state of the business.
Richard Facioni from Mosaic Group. (InsideRetail)
“Exactly how this shift in customer expectations and behaviours will play out across the entire retail sector is yet to be seen,” he said.
“But [Mosaic Group] is investing, adapting and operationally robust to take on the next five years of change and disruption in our sector.”
However, less than 12 months later, Mosaic Group told the ASX it was winding down Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, W.Lane and BeMe in September last year.
It said the move was part of its strategy to focus on its “core brands”, and led to the closure of 200 stores nationwide and the loss of almost 1,000 jobs.
Despite the restructure, Mosaic Group announced it was going into administration a month later.
“Following recent attempts by the company to informally restructure its operations, the Board of Mosaic has determined that voluntary administration is now the most appropriate way to restructure the Group,” the company told the ASX.
“The board wishes to reiterate its belief to those who supported the restructure, to Mosaic’s customers and, most importantly, to Mosaic’s dedicated team across Australia, that the business has a long-term future.”
The business owed creditors $250 million.
Receivers KPMG and voluntary administrator FTI Consulting said they were looking for a buyer for the brand, but it soon became apparent there were very few bites.
The group went on to announce the Katies brand would also close, impacting about 500 employees.
In January this year, the group announced Rivers would also be closing, impacting about 650 employees.
Another one bites the dust
Finally, on Wednesday, the group released its final statement.
Mosaic Brands, the company behind five Australian clothes retailers including Rivers megastores in regional Australia, has collapsed. (ABC News: Libby Hogan)
“The receivers and managers of Mosaic Brands Group today announce the closure of Millers and Noni B, the remaining brands and stores in the Mosaic Brands portfolio,” a spokesperson said.
The closure means 252 stores will shutter, and 933 employees will be impacted.
“Despite the best efforts of all parties, we have been unable to achieve a sale of any of the brands within the Mosaic portfolio,” KPMG partner David Hardy said.
“As a result, all stores in the Mosaic Brands Group will be wound down over the coming months.”
Fashion and business expert Dr Carol Tan said the outcome was not unexpected.
“Given the current retail environment and the financial struggles of Mosaic Brands, it is understandable that no buyers were found for Millers and Noni B,” she said.
“The retail sector has been facing significant challenges over the past few years, including economic pressures, changing consumer behaviours, and the rise of online shopping.
“This outcome shows the tough conditions in the retail market and the difficulty of turning around struggling brands in such an environment.
“While there might have been hope to find a buyer, the reality of the situation made it a challenging prospect.”
Mosaic Group said it expected to close all its remaining stores down by mid-April.
The total number of job losses is expected to exceed 2,000.
The share price for Mosaic Group is currently $0.036.
