Ed Harry, the specialty men’s clothing store offering casual and formal wear, has been placed into voluntary administration following a “challenging” retail environment in the past 12 months. 

On Tuesday, KPMG’s Brendan Richards and Gayle Dickerson were appointed voluntary administrators of Ed Harry, following a “particularly tough” Christmas sales period. 

“Like many other Australian retailers, after a strong period of growth, it has faced a challenging environment over the past 12 months,” Mr Richards said. 

“It has also become clearer that shopping centre footfall has been significantly weaker than expected.” 

One of the staff members at the Ed Harry store on Baylis Street told The Daily Advertiser that they only found out the news yesterday and have not been told “anything”, such as when the business will close its doors in Wagga. 

The 87 stores across the country will continue as normal but all merchandise will be immediately marked as clearance to maximise and assess options for the business. 

Wagga Business Chamber’s vice president Caleb Richards said the drought has been one of the biggest issues affecting regional communities. 

“As a regional centre, we’ve had a tough year because of the drought as a significant part of the retail sector is the farming community and as a result retailers will likely see a 30 to 40 per cent downturn in their revenue,” Mr Richards said.

“The other challenge in the retail sector is combating the online market as many shoppers are turning to purchase online because of the convenience. 

“When you put the drought issues up against a growing online presence, it places a huge pressure on retail everywhere.” 

Mr Richards said the NSW State Business Chamber has identified these issues and looking at ways to support the farmers because it impacts regional communities. 

“I don’t think the trend will necessarily continue but we can’t bury our head in the sand without looking at ways to boost the support to our farming sector, which flows into retail in regional communities,” he said. 

Ed Harry’s managing director David Clark said there has been “fierce competition” with both brick and mortar and online spaces. 

“While this was to be expected, the directors had been exploring options for funding to enable Ed Harry to continue to compete and grow, however to this point have been unsuccessful,” Mr Clark said. 

“Tuesday has been a difficult day for all our hard-working employees and loyal customers.” 

Almost 500 jobs are at risk as Ed Harry employs 498 staff and the news follows a string of retailers in Wagga who have closed in recent times, including Roger David, Crossroads, Payless Shoes and Factorie.