Collapsed activewear brand Stax rescued at 11th hour
Australian activewear brand Stax has been rescued from collapse after a private investor couple snapped up the embattled business.
Justin Truong and Sandy Li-Truong, the married entrepreneurs who founded Australian streetwear retailer Pushas, have acquired Stax after receivers were appointed to the brand in June.
Pushas co-founders Justin Truong and Sandy Li have acquired Stax. AFR
An investor group led by Truong and Li-Truong have bought the Stax trademarks, design intellectual property, the NANDEX™ fabric technology and its digital assets from FTI Consulting for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition has been labelled a private investment and will operate as a separate entity to Pushas.
“Stax remains one of Australia’s most recognised activewear brands, with a loyal customer community and strong long-term potential,” Li-Truong said in a statement.
“Don and Matilda built something special: a fashion-forward activewear brand centred around the belief that every body is a Stax body.
Truong will serve as Stax chairperson, while Pushas will appoint a new chief executive and fresh team to bring the brand back to life and resume day-today operations.
Stax owed over $1.7 million in outstanding orders. Nicole Douglas
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Truong added that he and his wife have an “enormous respect” for Stax’s original co-founders Don Robertson and Matilda Murray and the community of loyal customers they built.
In his statement, Truong made it clear that legal responsibility for unfulfilled orders “did not transfer to the new ownership”.
However, he said the team would explore ways to support customers after relaunch.
Li-Truong and Truong did not confirm exactly when Stax would resume taking online orders or if the closed brick and mortar stores would reopen.
The couple teased Stax’s return with a short video posted to Instagram that indicated the brand would be back up and running by spring 2026, with the caption “stay tuned”.
Stax owed over $1.7 million in outstanding orders to almost 13,000 customers before its collapse, financial records show.
“Affected customers should receive an email from Stax in the coming weeks to register the details of any unfulfilled orders,” Truong added.
“Stax is expected to relaunch online ahead of summer, with Australian fulfilment and a renewed focus on considered product releases, quality and long-term sustainable growth.”
Receiver Asjadi Hone said she was proud to have facilitated the sale of Stax to new owners and help preserve the brand’s identity.
“This is a great outcome for the brand to restore trust with its large and loyal customer community across Australia,” Hone said.
“The new owners will appoint a team to focus on rebuilding the brand while maintaining the product quality, inclusivity and community connection that has defined Stax since its launch.”
Stax’s financial woes laid bare
Stax was in the red for a total of $23,769,514 in liabilities and debts owed to creditors when it collapsed, according to documents filed to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in July.
Along with $1.7 million in unfulfilled orders, the brand also owed more than $453,000 to staff before its collapse, including $63,556 in superannuation, $89,209 in annual leave and $128,683 in redundancy payments.
Other creditors were owed another $6.2 million, with $500,000 owed to Google, $328,845 to Meta, and $1.9 million in unpaid fees to Ningbo Mingna Garments.
After it collapsed into receivership, the brand paused orders and closed its two stores on Sydney’s Pitt Street and Liverpool Westfield.
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