Thirteen David Lawrence and Marcs fashion stores will close and 20 staff will lose their jobs as administrators attempt to strike a deal with a buyer to save the famous fashion labels.
The job cuts and store closures come a fortnight after the troubled businesses were placed in voluntary administration.
Nine David Lawrence stores and four Marcs outlets will close by February 21 and 10 full-time staff and another 10 part-time staff will be made redundant.
Another 50 staff will be offered jobs in other stores and have the option of taking redundancy payouts.
Geoff Reidy, a director of administrators Rodgers Reidy, says the stores identified for closure had already been earmarked to close before his firm was appointed to see if David Lawrence and Marcs could be saved from collapse.
More than 40 individuals and companies have so far expressed interest in possibly buying the fashion labels.
"We've been buoyed by that," Mr Reidy told AAP on Thursday.
"The majority are local players but there are some overseas interests as well."
Potential buyers for the businesses have until February 22 to lodge their interest, with the administrators hopeful of finalising a sale soon.
The fashion retailers, which are two of Australia's best-known labels, employ about 1130 staff in Australia and another 42 in New Zealand across their 52 stores, 11 outlets and 140 concessions.
Staff learned about the store closures and job losses on Wednesday during meetings with the administrators and local area managers.
When the businesses were placed in administration earlier this month, the sole director of the companies behind the labels, Malcolm Webster, blamed deteriorating sales, poor cash flow and market conditions.
David Lawrence and Marcs are among a string of retailers hit by tough times in the Australian retail market.
Rhodes and Beckett, and Herringbone were placed in voluntary administration last week, leaving the futures of about 140 workers in doubt.
Payless Shoes and Howards Storage World appointed administrators two months ago, while children's retailer Pumpkin Patch entered receivership last October.
DAVID LAWRENCE STORE CLOSURES
* Fashion Spree, NSW
* Indooroopilly, Qld
* Queens Plaza, Qld
* Carindale, Qld
* Highpoint, Vic
* Eastland, Vic
* Little Collins Street, Vic
* Bridge Road Richmond, Vic
* Perth Enex, WA
MARCS STORE CLOSURES
* Canberra, ACT
* Fashion Spree, NSW
* Pacific Fair, Qld
* Eastland, Vic
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