Premium underwear brand stocked at David Jones and Saks Fifth Avenue collapses

A premium Australian underwear brand stocked in department stores including David Jones and Saks Fifth Avenue in the US has entered administration, following the sudden death of its founder.

Equmen, which sells high-performance men’s compression clothing, entered administration on August 29 after founder Gavin Jones passed away in July.

David Levi of Levi Consulting was appointed administrator.

Levi indicated to SmartCompany Equmen had incurred startup trading losses of around $3 million.

“In my experience, it is common that startups incur losses and that has been the position in relation to the company,” says Levi.

Equmen had a team of four employees and was based in a rented premise in Sydney.

On its website, Equmen lists four Australian retailers as stockists including David Jones, as well as high-profile international stockists including Saks 5th Avenue in the US, Selfridges in the UK and Brown Thomas in Ireland.

The company did not engage directly in design or manufacturing of it products and housed its stock in third party warehouses, according to Levi.

Jones, who died at his farm in Goulburn on July 12 this year, founded the company in 2007.

Levi confirmed Jones was primarily responsible for arranging funding for the company and says Jones’ unexpected death had interrupted the business.

While he would not indicate who the creditors were, Levi says he expects they will be paid 100c to the dollar.

The first meeting of creditors will take place in Sydney on September 11.

Several other companies owned by Jones have also entered administration after his death, including Gavin Jones Communications, Vibe Australia and Deadly TV.