Glue Store is set for a relaunch under new ownership, with Brand Collective planning new locations, an updated brand mix and an improved digital experience for the youth fashion retailer.
The comeback follows the abrupt closure of Glue Store’s shops and online operation by former owner Accent Group, after the business recorded an $8.4 million loss.
Brand Collective announced this week that it had acquired Glue Store alongside fashion marketplace The DOM and Australian activewear label Running Bare. It has not yet said how many Glue stores it intends to open or when the first will return.
The retailer had about 33 stores before Accent Group closed 17 locations in 2024. The remaining 16 stores were later shut when the business was brought to an end.
Glue Store relaunch planned under new ownership
Brand Collective said the relaunch would build on Glue Store’s existing position through a “renewed focus on updated brand assortment, improved digital experience and new stores planned as part of the relaunch”.
The brand will also gain access to Brand Collective’s retail, ecommerce, marketing and operational capabilities. The expansion is being led by chief executive David Thomas, whose group already has a portfolio of Australian and international brands.
Thomas said Brand Collective saw “enormous potential across all three” of the acquired businesses, adding: “These acquisitions demonstrate Brand Collective’s ongoing evolution and innovation as a business.”
The company said the acquisitions of Glue Store and The DOM would strengthen its digital capabilities and create a new multi-brand marketplace division.
The DOM’s existing digital marketplace brought together discounted and clearance stock from individual brands, with participating brands shipping products directly to customers. Brand Collective plans to develop it into a wider destination for fashion, footwear and lifestyle products, drawing on its brand portfolio, supplier relationships and ecommerce expertise.
Running Bare will retain its own identity under the new ownership. Thomas said the activewear label, founded in 1983, would benefit from Brand Collective’s retail, ecommerce, wholesale, marketing and operational capabilities while continuing to draw on its more than four decades of heritage and loyal customer following.
Further details about the Glue Store relaunch are expected to be announced in the coming months.
