No buyer for fashion retailer Glue Store, stores officially shut

Glue Store has permanently closed in store and online after Accent Group failed to find a buyer for the fashion chain.

A message on the brand’s website confirmed the closure, according to reports published on June 17, 2026. The final remaining store was the Melbourne Emporium location, which was due to shut on Sunday after the online shutdown notice appeared.

The closure ends the remaining Australian operations of a retailer that has been wound down in stages for more than a year.

How the shutdown unfolded

Glue Store’s retreat from the market began in mid-2024, when about half of its stores were closed as part of a staged wind-down.

Accent Group then announced on February 24, 2026, that it would close or sell the remaining 16 Glue Store locations if no buyer emerged. Coverage the following day said the remaining stores were expected to be wound down or sold by the end of June 2026.

By June 17, the chain’s website was telling shoppers the brand had closed in store and online, indicating the exit had effectively reached its end.

Failed sale search

The latest development is not simply another store closure. It is the end point of a sale process that did not produce a buyer.

Research for the story indicates no purchaser emerged before the closure decision took effect. That left Accent Group to complete the wind-down rather than keep the brand operating while a sale was negotiated.

The reporting available so far does not give a final number for workers affected by the shutdown, and it does not confirm whether any formal bid process attracted serious offers before the closure.

Accent Group’s wider strategy shift

Glue Store’s exit is part of Accent Group’s broader reshaping of its retail portfolio.

The company has been shifting resources toward other brands and expanding Sports Direct, while also closing underperforming assets. That broader portfolio reset has included other exits such as OzSale.

Accent Group chairman Lawrence Myers and investor updates have framed the Glue Store decision as part of that reallocation of capital and attention, rather than a wholesale retreat from retail.

Financial context

The closure also has a reported earnings benefit for Accent Group.

The company has said the Glue exit, together with other closures, is expected to lift projected pre-tax earnings by $16.2 million in the next year. Accent Group has also said the brand’s wind-down should be largely completed by the end of its 2026 financial year.

That guidance suggests the group expects to finish most of the operational and lease exit work quickly, even though some final steps may still take time.

What Glue Store was

Glue Store first opened in Melbourne in 1999 and became known for carrying labels including Adidas, Nike and Levi’s.

Its closure ends a long-running Australian fashion retail chain that had already been shrinking before the final shutdown. The last-store closure at Melbourne Emporium marks the end of both the physical shop network and the brand’s online presence.

What remains unclear

Some details remain unresolved.

The exact closing date for the Melbourne Emporium store has not been independently confirmed in the available reporting. The final staff impact has also not been disclosed, and the reporting does not say whether any buyer discussions continued right up to the closure.

For now, the confirmed outcome is clear: Glue Store no longer trades, and Accent Group has moved on to the next phase of its portfolio overhaul.

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