Fashion startup The Daily Edited gets another life after voluntary administration

Monogramed luxury fashion business The Daily Edited (tde.) is back from the brink yet again, with the former startup’s owner, Marquee Retail Group (MRG), emerging from voluntary administration, following the execution of a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) to secure the business.

MRG is owned by former Myer boss Bernie Brookes. It bought tde. in December 2022, after the startup had been placed in liquidation following a wild eight years that saw a bitter falling out cofounders Alyce Tran and Tania Liu, leading to legal action before the matter ended in abruptly in 2021 when Tran sold her 50% to Liu.

At its height, tde. was valued at nearly $14 million when they sold a stake to fashion brand Oroton in 2017 for $4.5 million, then bought it back for $2.2 million two years later.

As well as tde., Brookes MRG also bought Colette by Colette Hayman, an affordable handbag, jewellery and fashion accessories chain from voluntary administrators in 2020.

Then it was MRG’s turn in voluntary administration two months ago, with the books handed to restructuring and insolvency firm Mackay Goodwin in April this year.

At the time Brookes, MRG’s chair, blamed an “an unplanned downturn in sales from October 2023 to March 2024” due to rising inflation and increased interest rates as well as a debt to the ATO dating back to the Covid pandemic era.

Mackay Goodwin CEO Domenic Calabretta said the DOCA was “a fantastic result” that will keep the stores open and save 400 jobs.

“The team at Mackay Goodwin worked seamlessly with the team from MRG to make this happen, including many late nights, weekend work, and bi-lingual negotiations with overseas Chinese suppliers,” he said.

But tde.’s flagship store in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building has shut, with the loss of several jobs, and the monogrammed goods brand will now survive online.

Bernie Brookes said the successful DOCA was “a huge weight off our shoulders” and the company will honour all gift cards issued before administration.

“The new company will have 40 stores under the Colette by Colette Hayman brand, along with its online site. It will also maintain the online business for The Daily Edited (tde.),” he said.

“There were fewer than 10 redundancies. Mackay Goodwin evaluated alternatives for the business, including offers to purchase it (or parts of the business), however, the best outcome for creditors and staff was to accept the DOCA.”