Victoria Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News. By mid-April this year, Aussie “retail icon” Rivers will be no more .
The chain which once used sporting greats like Ron Barassi, David Hookes, Peter Brock and Max Walker to spruik its shirts and shoes — and sold boots favoured by rock god Mick Jagger — will close its 136 remaining stores for good, and shed about 650 jobs . In its heyday, Rivers shod and clothed Australians from all walks of life, appealing to the masses with its affordable sturdy shoes, and smart but robust collared, cotton shirts. Proudly donned by everyday Aussies at backyard barbies, in bars and workplaces, Rivers shoes and shirts weren’t seen as cheap.
They were just fair dinkum, hard-wearing clobber, that lasted for years if cared for well. When a 1989 Tattler column revealed that Rivers — rather than more expensive R.M Williams — were the boots of choice for Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger when he toured Down Under, it was a golden moment for the retail brand that had officially launched in Ballarat just a decade earlier, but which really began in rural, north central Victoria more than a century before that.
Aussie sporting legends spruiked Rivers shoes and clothes back in its heyday. Picture: Supplied Collared shirts, in solid hues or check, were popular. Picture: Supplied Rock legend Mick Jagger reportedly favoured Rivers shoes when touring Down Under.
The Tattler piece that reveal.
