By Madeleine Heffernan
Twenty-five-year-old Australian fashion label Seduce has collapsed, amid tough competition in womenswear and after several attempts to wind it up by landlords in recent years.
Seduce targeted women aged 25 to 35 and supplied department store chain Myer and website The Iconic. It also expanded overseas.
Twenty-five-year-old Sydney fashion chain Seduce has collapsed Credit: Margaret Zhang
But Deloitte was appointed administrators of the Sydney-based company in mid-August. It's unclear how much money is owed and to whom.
Seduce was founded in 1991 and described its product as "quality Australian clothing for women".
"With operations also in New Zealand, China and the United Arab Emirates, when you wear Seduce, you're wearing an international brand," the company said on its Facebook page, which is advertising a sale.
It's unclear whether any of its stores are still open. Calls to stores were either disconnected or unanswered.
The collapse comes after Fairfax Media reported that a subsidiary of landlord giant GPT, Melbourne Central Custodian, was seeking to wind up Seduce for the second time in two years.
GPT declined to comment, but withdrew its application in 2015 after a dispute over unpaid rent was resolved. Seduce also survived a wind-up bid by property giant Charter Hall earlier this year.
Seduce recently collaborated with Disney to celebrate the release of the Alice in Wonderland sequel. It has more than 32,000 Facebook "likes" and 24,500 followers on Instagram.
Peter and Judy Li founded the business 25 years ago. Mr Li told Fairfax Media three years ago that the Middle East and China had "responded well" to its newly launched stores. Seduce has a sister brand, Bluejuice.