Cotton On Group

History

1990s

Cotton On was founded by Nigel Austin in 1991, with the first store being opened in Geelong, Australia.

2000s

Cotton On Kids launched in 2004. It was followed by Cotton On Body, Factorie and Typo in 2007, and Rubi in 2008. In 2013, Cotton On acquired Australian female youth brand Supré.

Cotton On expanded internationally in 2006, with the opening of its first New Zealand store at Queensgate Shopping Centre, Lower Hutt. It now operates in 19 countries.

2010s

In December 2012, Cotton On was fined $1 million for selling highly flammable children's sleepwear misleadingly labeled as low fire danger. The discount clothing retailer, which has more than 900 outlets across the country, was fined $400,000 for selling more than 1000 nightdresses that breached Australian fire safety standards, and a further $400,000 for selling more than 1000 unsafe pairs of girls' pajamas, between September and December 2010. It was fined a further $200,000 for false and misleading labels on both sets of clothing items which claimed they were low fire danger.

In October 2016, Cotton On Group signed a 3-year contract with the AFL Women's League to be the exclusive uniform supplier for all its teams.

In February 2019, Cotton On began selling sex toys on its Australian and New Zealand websites with a content warning.

In July 2019, Four Corners reported Cotton On and several other Australian brands sourced cotton from Xinjiang, and that evidence linked the cotton to forced labour camps. Cotton On ran an internal investigation, and in October 2019, announced it had stopped buying cotton from Xinjiang over concerns of abuse of human rights.

Brands

Cotton On

Cotton On is the main brand of the Cotton On Group. It dates its origins back to Nigel Austin's first denim jacket sale in 1988. The first Cotton On branded store opened three years later.

Cotton On Kids

Cotton On Kids was launched in 2004, selling children's clothing, baby clothing, activewear, dress-ups, fashion accessories, swimwear, gifts, shoes and stationery. In March 2013 it launched a Free by Cotton On range for 9 to 14-year-olds. Free by Cotton On has since been discontinued and was replaced by Cotton On Kids Youth in 2020 which, instead of being an entirely separate range to Cotton On Kids, now offers the same Cotton On Kids items to customers in larger sizes (up to a size 16 in Girls and 20 in Boys).

Cotton On Body

Cotton On Body was launched in 2007, selling underwear and sleepwear. It later expanded into swimwear and activewear.

Factorie

Factorie is a youth fashion brand which was added to the Cotton On Group in 2007. It has since expanded internationally, and now has more than 160 stores across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Rubi

Rubi is a footwear and accessories brand launched in 2008.

Typo

Typo is a stationery brand with stores in Australia, Asia, New Zealand, the United States, the UK, and South Africa. In the UK, ASOS and WHSmith also stock select Typo products.

Supré

Supré was established in 1984, selling clothing for young women. It became part of the Cotton On Group in 2013, and had more than 1,000 workers across more than 100 retail stores in Australia and New Zealand at its peak. All Supré stores in NZ had been closed by 2020.

Lost

Cotton On Lost was launched in late 2018, but has since been phased out. The range included travel luggage and accessories.

Ceres Life

Ceres Life was launched in April 2020. What started out as an R&D project, it has now cemented itself as Cotton On Group's eighth brand which is aimed at 30yo+ women with a major focus on environment and sustainability, where all items in the range are sourced from responsible fabrics including recycled materials, rescued fabrics and organically grown textiles as well as eco-certified or natural fibres.

Stores

As of January 2025 Cotton On has 1,298 stores globally.

Oceania

Cotton On has 670 stores in Oceania.

• Australia (574)
• New Zealand (96)

Africa and the Middle East

Cotton On has 136 stores in Africa and 29 stores in the Middle East.

• Botswana (3)
• Namibia (4)
• Oman (1)
• South Africa (129)
• United Arab Emirates (28)

Americas

Cotton On has 210 stores in North America, and 28 stores in South America.

• Brazil (27)
• Canada (1)
• United States (209)
• Venezuela (1)

Asia

Cotton On has 205 stores in Asia.

• Hong Kong (4)
• Indonesia (36)
• Malaysia (78)
• Philippines (36)
• Singapore (37)
• Vietnam (14)

Europe

Cotton On has 20 stores in Europe.

• United Kingdom (20)

Closed

Cotton On previously operated stores in Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.

Loyalty program

Cotton On's loyalty program, Cotton On Perks, has over 2.4 million members, making it one of the largest retail loyalty programs in Australia.

References

References

1. (April 2, 2015). "Cotton On: The inside story of the retailer's rise to $1.5b in revenue".
2. "OUR WORKPLACES - Cotton on Group".
3. [http://cottonongroup.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/0003504-COG-SUPPLIER-DISCLOSURE-LIST-FEB-2019.pdf Cotton On Group SUPPLIER LIST FEB 2019]
4. "OUR HISTORY - Cotton on Group".
5. Oliver, Melinda. (2 October 2013). "Cotton On snaps up fast-fashion brand Supré amid influx of overseas retailers". Smart Company.
6. "Cotton On Group fashions a new approach to customer loyalty".
7. (2012-12-18). "Cotton On fined for selling flammable kids pyjamas".
8. (18 December 2012). "Clothing Retailer Cotton On Slapped with $1M Fine for Fire Hazard Children's Nightwear".
9. . (19 December 2012). ["Cotton On fined for selling flammable kids pajamas"](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-18/cotton-on-fined-for-unsafe-childrens-clothing/4434462). *ABC*.
10. [https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/cotton_on_in_major_afl_womens_deal#:~:text=Australian%20sportswear%20retailer%20Cotton%20On,rules%20football's%20new%20women's%20league.&text=Currently%2C%20the%20league%20has%20few,ranges%20specifically%20designed%20for%20women. Cotton On in major AFL women’s deal] by Tom Lloyd on Sports Media, 10 Nov 2016
11. [https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aflw-puts-some-muscle-into-cotton-ons-fight-with-international-brands-20170307-gusosk.html AFLW puts some muscle into Cotton On's fight with international brands] by Katie Low, 7 Mar 2017
12. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hbyZDwAAQBAJ&dq=cotton+on+aflw+deal&pg=PT186 ''Routledge Handbook of the Business of Women's Sport''] edited by Nancy Lough and Andrea N. Geurin on Google Books
13. (9 December 2021). "Cotton On releases 'self-love' range on its website". [[Stuff (company).
14. (2 December 2019). "Cotton On's sex toy move sparks bizarre backlash". [[News Corp Australia]].
15. (22 March 2022). "The wellness industry has come for sex, and I'm not here for it". [[Stuff (company).
16. (2019-10-16). "Cotton On and Target stop buying cotton from Xinjiang over human rights concerns".
17. (15 July 2019). "Cotton on, Target investigate after women speak out about forced labour".
18. (16 October 2019). "Cotton on and Target stop buying cotton from Xinjiang over human rights concerns".
19. "COTTON ON KIDS - Cotton on Group".
20. "COTTON ON BODY - Cotton on Group".
21. "Factorie - Cotton on Group".
22. "Rubi - Cotton on Group".
23. "Typo - Cotton on Group".
24. "SUPRE - Cotton on Group".
25. (31 January 2020). "Here are six brands that couldn't make it in NZ's retail market".
26. (29 January 2019). "Made in transit: the Group launches into travel category - Cotton on Group".
27. "Global Store Footprint - January 2025".
28. "Global Store Footprint".
29. (2018-11-07). "Cotton On's international losses increase as it expands".
30. Retail, Inside. (2017-07-06). "Cotton On opens Middle East concept store".