Jeanswest

"Jeans West" redirects here. For the defunct American clothing retailer of the same name, see Edison Brothers Stores.

Jeanswest (formerly stylised JeansWest) is an Australian apparel chain store, owned by Hong Kong company Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd.^[1] It operates in the market of casual wear and lifestyle, with denim playing an integral part in the product range. Its main rivals are Just Jeans and Jay Jays which stock a similar range of clothing and denim.

Jeanswest

Jeanswest store at the OP Mall in Hong Kong
Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1972; 53 years ago (1972) in Perth, Western Australia
Founder	Alister Norwood
Headquarters	Hawthorn, Victoria , Australia
Number of locations	90
Area served	Australia New Zealand[1]
Key people	Mark Daynes (CEO)
Owner	Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd
Website	jeanswest.com.au

In March 2025, it was announced that the company would be going into voluntary administration, and closing all of its 90 stores, however would maintain an online presence.^[1]

History

Jeanswest opened its first store headed by Alister Norwood in Perth, Western Australia in 1972. By 1984, there were 28 stores across Western Australia.

In 1985, Jeanswest branched into Queensland, buying the Eagle Jeans chain of stores, followed by New South Wales in 1987 and Victoria in 1992. In 1990 Mr. Norwood relinquished control of JeansWest to Peter Volk and Glorious Sun Group and the company's headquarters moved from Perth to Melbourne.

Jeanswest entered voluntary administration in Australia as of 15 January 2020^[update], leaving the future of its 146 Australian stores and the employment of its almost-1000 strong staff in doubt.^[2] It was announced on 25 February 2020 that the chain would be bought by Hong Kong based Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd, in a deal that will save 106 of the affected Australian stores,^[3] meaning 40 stores will remain closed and their 308 staff members offered redundancies.

On 25 March 2025, administrators from Pitcher Partners announced that the brand and its 90-plus stores in Australia would close, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. Jeanswest's New Zealand stores were not affected.^[1][4]