Parents around the country you can now relax, your beloved children’s fashion chain store Pumpkin Patch will not, we repeat, not be closing down.
Safe to say we were all gutted back in December when we heard the retailer would be shutting its doors after 26 years in business, after it went into receivership in October and failed to find a suitable buyer.
However, at the final hour, Australian online retailer Catch Group (who operate CatchOfTheDay and Scoopon) decided to swoop in and buy the failing clothing retailer, just in the nick of time. It plans to relaunch the brand in Australia and New Zealand, which includes a revamped online presence, 15-20 new bricks and mortar stores, plus “trendy” new clothing designs for infants to eight year olds.
“We have engaged top designers and product experts to help us build a beautiful range of Pumpkin Patch apparel which will remain true to its heritage but at the same time bring a stronger sense of fashion and product innovation to the brand,” Catch Group chief executive Nati Harpaz said in a statement.
Mr Harpaz believes there are a number of reasons why the company failed, but it’s still a fantastic business and one he plans to reinvent.
“Pumpkin Patch is a great brand loved by many Australians and New Zealanders and it had a great following but at some point it lost its way,” he told AAP. “One of their mistakes was to increase the range, from zero to eight, to zero to 14 when it wasn’t necessarily a place 13- and 14-year-olds wanted to walk into.”
Shoppers can look forward to the relaunch from early in the new financial year (from July 1, 2017).
“As parents of kids who wear and love Pumpkin Patch we couldn’t just sit back and let the brand disappear.”
Another Aussie victory.
