The quiet $22.8 million problem brewing before activewear brand Stax collapsed
The owners of collapsed activewear brand Stax were facing a $22.8 million cash shortfall and hadn’t turned a profit in four years before calling in the liquidators, new financial records show.
A grim report lodged to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) by liquidators at CasCap Advisory on October 2 has provided a window into the company’s troubled final years.
Stax activewear brand founders Don Robertson and partner Matilda Murray. James Brickwood
Stax – founded in 2015 by one-time Rich Lister Don Robertson and wife Matilda Murray – appointed receivers in June and was saved from collapse at the 11th hour by a private investor group in August.
The liquidators’ report has revealed Stax was “balance sheet insolvent” as early as June 2024, and lost more than $9 million in FY24.
The report also found Stax last generated a profit in 2022.
The company’s cash shortfall has reached $22.82 million – not including the cost of CasCap Advisory running the liquidation.
CasCap’s fees have reached just shy of $440,000, according to the report.
Stax owes money to a total of 13,207 unsecured creditors, the vast majority of them customers who did not receive over $1.3 million worth of orders.
A plan to deliver the unfulfilled orders was scrapped by liquidators.
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.
Another $6.2 million is owed to creditors, including with $500,000 owed to Google, $328,845 to Meta, and $1.9 million in unpaid fees to Ningbo Mingna Garments.
Another meeting of creditors is scheduled for October 13.
Stax owes money to a total of 13,207 unsecured creditors. Instagram
After it collapsed into receivership, the brand paused orders and closed its two stores on Sydney’s Pitt Street and Liverpool Westfield.
Brian Silvia and Michael Hird of CasCap Advisory were appointed joint liquidators for the embattled brand and its entities, including Stax Retail, Stax GPT and Stax Westfield, on July 10.
Justin Truong and Sandy Li-Truong, the married entrepreneurs who founded Australian streetwear retailer Pushas, acquired Stax in August.
The acquisition has been labelled a private investment and will operate as a separate entity to Pushas.
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”.
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