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The Cost Of Doing Business: Part 1
“I thought Mosaic was a very famous company in Australia,” she told Dateline.
“They took my goods but refused to pay. I was so miserable and broken, because I had to pay for the workers’ wages.”
Fashion supplier Shirley Lu was initially excited to work with an Australian company the size of Mosaic Brands. Source: SBS
Shirley borrowed money from her sister to cover some of her costs, but her sister was later diagnosed with breast cancer and needed the money back.
“We all felt that our world had come crashing down.”
Mosaic Brands in financial trouble
Noni B stores across Australia have closed down after the label’s owner Mosaic Brands went into administration in October 2024.
Insolvent trading is when a company is unable to pay existing debts while taking on new ones. It is illegal in Australia because of the harm it can inflict on unsuspecting businesses.
While in safe harbour, a publicly-listed company doesn’t have to disclose their insolvency to shareholders or suppliers.
‘A kind of blackmail’
He first began making shoes for Rivers from his factory in Xiamen, China, back in 2012. He says when Mosaic acquired the Australian brand in 2018, things changed. But he says it wasn’t until 2022 that he stopped getting paid on time for the goods he supplied.
Harry Wang says Mosaic Brands now owes him US$6.2 million (around $9.5 million). Source: SBS
Harry says he felt pressured to continue to supply goods or he would face loss of sales claims or non-payment for the goods he had already supplied.
“I’m so sad.”
This is a very, very big lesson for all the Chinese suppliers … Don’t trust anybody.
Harry Wang
Mosaic ‘deeply disappointed and upset’
“Based on some of the questions and propositions that have been put to me, there seems to be material misinformation about the company, which I believe will be clarified in the fullness of time.”
Scott Evans when he was CEO of Noni B in 2014. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
He added that during his 10 years as CEO he “had the privilege of working alongside literally thousands of hardworking team members …and suppliers”.
No adverse findings have been laid against any Mosaic Brands directors.
‘More likely to get bitten by a shark’
“There’s all the laws we need to address this poor behaviour. What we don’t have is effective enforcement of those laws.”
“Where were the gatekeepers?”
ASIC did not respond to Dateline’s specific questions, but says it continues to monitor the administration of Mosaic Brands.
Ongoing struggles
* Some of the debts referenced by suppliers in this story are disputed, with creditors’ debts to be finalised as part of the administration process.
