“Difficult Decision To Close”: Fashion Consignment Store Goodbyes Says Goodbye to Adelaide

After three years, Goodbyes has decided to shut down its Adelaide store. The fashion consignment chain called it quits because of slow-moving sales and increasing costs.

Back in 2023, co-founder Monique Thomas told Broadsheet, “We were thrilled when this spot came up in Adelaide. I’ve always been drawn to the east end for its hospo and boutique retail scene. The location feels really fortunate.”

Fast-forward to today, and the store is heading into its final month of trading.

“At the end of the lease, we made a decision based on where the business is performing best and where we can keep building,” says Goodbyes co-founder Olivia Mangan. “While we had the option to extend, the store wasn’t performing at the level we need to continue investing in it.” 

As Goodbyes approaches its 11th year of operation, the closure leaves the chain with three stores in Melbourne, one in Canberra and another in Hobart. Mangan notes that, compared with these other outlets, the Rundle Street store’s growth has been stunted, especially in the past year. “In our other locations, we have seen strong growth, and especially in the first three years, Goodbyes Adelaide didn’t follow that pattern.”

In March, the Goodbyes founders sent out an email announcing the news. “While this isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, we know that in business things don’t always go to plan,” the email said. The pair cited “rising costs” as a reason that contributed to the decision. 

Naturally, the closure affects Goodbyes’ eight-strong Adelaide team. “The hardest part of deciding to close the store was talking to the team about it. Some team members had been with us from the beginning, and our leadership team are capable, inspiring leaders,” Mangan says. “Where we could, we worked with them to offer relocation opportunities to other Goodbyes stores.”

Mangan says “it’s not on the cards right now” to consider returning to Adelaide in the near future. Looking forward, the founders say they’re being “more deliberate” about store locations. “We’ll continue to expand, especially in stores that are at capacity and in need of more space.”

Adelaide has seen a few fashion stores close down in recent months. Melbourne womenswear label Leonard St departed from Ebenezer Place at the end of last year, and Van Brussel (a finalist in this year’s National Designer Award) also decided to close its doors after just a year in the east end. 

“We still built a small but mighty community of shoppers and sellers,” Mangan says. “We received emails from customers saying how much we’d be missed and how needed a store like ours is in Adelaide. Those messages genuinely meant a lot.”

Goodbyes Adelaide’s last day of trading is Sunday May 24.