Annabell Mihic, an educator, entrepreneur and industry stalwart who has walked the intricate labyrinth of the Australian fashion industry. Mihic is well-known for her work and serves as a buying agent, connecting retailers with offshore garment factories. Yet, she found herself in financial crisis as her clothing venture, Faith Fashion, went into liquidation back in 2022. Her story sheds light on the challenges faced by suppliers in an industry frequently marred by late payments and contractual disputes.
In 2001, Mihic started her fashion empire with only $600. Concentrating her efforts on Chinese factories, she was able to direct production towards many household name brands such as Noni B, Rockmans, Autograph, Millers and W-Lane. Throughout her decades of service, she made her mark as a leader. She delivered Mosaic Brands, the umbrella company for all the brands she worked with. By 2018, the payment problems came to a head and shattered her experience with the program. She and her business partner, Jayson Haydon, were in a desperate battle every day just to keep the doors open.
Faith Fashion had a scintillating debut. Soon after the two made the switch, Mihic and Haydon started seeing alarming signs as Mosaic Brands started pushing payment terms. When pursuing payments they were greeted with several different excuses, occasionally discovering invoices hardened by old age. This put them in a vulnerable position, where they felt cornered and economically bullied.
As the months passed, those long payment terms imposed by Mosaic Brands started to take a devastating toll. Although these terms enormously helped the buyers, they put suppliers like Mihic in the lurch. She recalled the toll all these late changes took on her partnerships with factories and workers.
“We trusted in good faith — and we were left unpaid.” – Annabell Mihic
As the money were to get worse, Mihic would later discover that she was about US$200,000 in unpaid invoices. This debt was not only a burden to her business but a burden to her conscience. She felt a personal obligation for failing the factories that manufactured the garments she had created and sold.
“It’s not my money, I’m just a glorified bank; I was the agent. It’s the factories, it’s the people that made the clothes. It wasn’t my money, I let them down.” – Annabell Mihic
Things came to a head when one morning, one of her buyers called with the terrible news that they were changing the terms of their payment.
The abrupt reversal had Mihic and Haydon running to cover their commitments, creating more pressure and stress on their suppliers. That anger would resonate with anyone who had to jump through hoops to make it in a system that felt more and more stacked against them.
“We received a phone call from a buyer who said our payment terms have completely changed,” said Mihic.
Jayson Haydon echoed Mihic’s sentiments about the frantic state of their operations:
As their struggles dragged on, Mihic said it became harder and harder for her to uphold her relationships with the factories she worked with.
“Factories go berserk … trying to hold you [to] ransom.” – Jayson Haydon
The emotional impact of their plight emerged powerfully, too, as Mihic painted a vivid picture of her reality. Unpaid bills and a business in crisis added to the burden. She was nervous because she was alone and completely accountable for each income to everyone employed near her. She cried about the fact that she thought she had failed all the people whose success was based on her success.
“Nothing about how I have been treated has been normal to me. I don’t feel that any other retailer, Australian or international, that I’ve worked with has ever done that.” – Annabell Mihic
Mihic’s passion for fashion hadn’t flickered out so easily even in the face of all these challenges. She looked back fondly on times when she would spot customers wearing garments made in factories that she was negotiating on behalf of.
Sadly, those promising bright spots were eclipsed by some serious headwinds facing the industry. Shippon’s treatment, industry insiders said, is one of many reasons that have led to a now-tattered reputation for Australian fashion suppliers.
“I picked up my children from school, every mother was wearing a pair of jeans from Rockmans in a different colour, and a sweater or knitwear that was just beautifully created by the team.” – Annabell Mihic
Unfortunately, the bright moments were overshadowed by significant challenges within the industry. Industry insiders noted that situations like Mihic’s have contributed to a tarnished reputation for Australian fashion suppliers.
“They have given the Australian fashion industry a bad name.” – Industry insider
