Veteran fashion entrepreneur buys assets of collapsed manufacturer Mercury Brands

Veteran fashion entrepreneur Jeff Moss, the former owner of the Rockmans, Wombat and Table Eight brands, has bought the assets of the collapsed manufacturer Mercury Brands.

Moss announced this morning that his company Australian Horizons has bought the rights to Mercury’s more than 20 brands and licenses across men’s, women’s and children’s wear, along with the purchase of inventory, forward orders and existing debtor book.

Brands include No Fear, Purr, French Kitty, Crusty Demons, KANGOL, Roar, ROCHFORD Australia, itsu, voodoo dolls, Contempo, Billiecart, paperdolls, Milly, Leroy, Jimmie Jams, Playground and Nuggets.

“The deal will see the secured creditor Commonwealth Bank and all employee entitlements paid out in full and a very strong return to unsecured creditors,” Jeff Moss said.

“Retailers can also be assured that Australian Horizons Trading will be delivering on any forward orders placed with Mercury Brands. The acquisition guarantees continuity of supply for local retailers,” he says.

Receivers and managers Ian Carson and Craig Crosby of insolvency firm PPB had been trying to sell the company which was placed in receivership in September with annual turnover of $28 million.

The company collapsed after a promised $2 million investment from a company called Biron Capital failed to eventuate. That meant a new $3.5 million funding facility also fell through.

Moss says the Mercury Brands stable of brands and licenses joins a series of recent acquisitions intended to position Australian Horizons Trading as a locally based powerhouse in the Australian apparel and footwear market.

Moss also spent $5.4 million buying the Funtastic apparel business, followed by Australian Horizons, in August and the Funtastic Footwear business by Corell Brands, a joint
venture between Jeff Moss, David Rosenberg and Corell Holdings, in late June.

Moss says he has 20 years experience in the apparel manufacturing, design, distribution and retail arenas, with intimate understanding of China manufacturing, having established a highly successful vertical operation.

Moss has a long history in the fashion business. He established Pretty Girl Fashion Group in 1989 and later sold half of the business to the Packer family in 2000. He co-founded Tigerlily Swimwear in 1999 with Johdi Meares, acquired the Rockmans Retail chain from Woolworths in 2000, bought the Table Eight business in 2005 and acquired the Wombat chain in the same year, taking Pretty Girl’s retail footprint to 2,005 stores.

He sold out of Pretty Girl in 2006 but remained in the rag trade, manufacturing clothing under license (one of his most successful brand is the Boom Doggers kid’s brand) and also manufacturing generic brands for discount department stores including Target.