Colorado Group Limited was an Australian public company that operates a number of retail clothing chains. Major brands include Colorado Adventurewear, Mathers, Williams the Shoemen, JAG, Diana Ferrari, and Pairs. The company is based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

with an office in

Cremorne, Victoria Cremorne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Cremorne recorded a population of 2,158 at the 2021 census. It i ...

. The history of the company dates back over 140 years to the 1864 founding of Williams in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, Victoria. In 2011, the company became known as Fusion Retail Brands. Colorado had 434 stores in Australia and New Zealand, and employed 3,800 people. It owed around 400 million to 18 financiers. Colorado Group Limited was delisted from the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

on 15 August 2007 following the issue by ARH Investments of compulsory acquisition notices on 3 July 2007. The Colorado clothing retail group went into receivership on 30 March 2011.

Insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

accounting specialists

Ferrier Hodgson Ferrier Hodgson was a firm specialising in corporate recovery, corporate advisory, forensic accounting and forensic IT. The firm has a specialist management consulting arm called Azurium. Ferrier Hodgson was established in 1976. It became on ...

were placed in charge of the group. Colorado was owned by Affinity Equity Partners. In June 2011 it was announced that the clothing chain was to "shut its doors" at the cost of 1,042 jobs. In Australia 100 underperforming Colorado stores shut, 21 Williams stores, 7 Mathers stores, 2 JAG stores and one Diana Ferrari store. In New South wales 42 stores closed, and in Victoria 27 closed. 9 Colorado Stores in New Zealand also closed. Colorado ceased selling its clothing lines, returning to its beginning as a shoe brand which were sold through the company's

Mathers Mathers is an English surname and may refer to: * Edward Peter Mathers (1850–1924), British journalist and newspaper proprietor * Edward Powys Mathers (1892–1939), British translator and poet * George Mathers, 1st Baron Mathers (1886–1965), S ...

and Williams the Shoemen stores, and online.

References

External links

Colorado Group Limited website
Companies based in Brisbane Shoe companies of Australia Retail companies established in 1864 Retail companies disestablished in 2011 1864 establishments in Australia 2011 disestablishments in Australia {{clothing-stub