From live on air to owed six figures: Cush responds to the TVSN closure announcement

MEDIA RELEASE
7 October 2026

From live on air to owed six figures: NZ designer responds to the TVSN closure announcement
Auckland, New Zealand. 

Two weeks ago, Minx founder Cushla Reed was in a Sydney TVSN studio watching Australian customers snap up her designs live on air. This week, Australian television shopping channel TVSN announces its closing down sale, leaving the New Zealand footwear brand owed a six-figure sum.

"We did not see this coming," says Reed, who has built Minx over 26 years. "To move so quickly from sell out shows and larger orders to a potential closure has been deeply unsettling. But Minx has been through tough times before, and we'll come through this one too."

Based in Sydney, TVSN broadcasts live shopping shows from its own studio, where brands and designers present products on air while viewers buy by phone and online in real time. It reaches homes across Australia and New Zealand, with a database audience of over 17 million. For many smaller brands, it has been a powerful way to reach thousands of customers in a single broadcast. TVSN and sister business Innovations are holding closing down sales while parent company Direct Group seeks a buyer or new investment.

Minx has supplied TVSN for two seasons, with Reed regularly appearing on air to present her collections across multiple live shows. Demand was so strong that scheduled shows were cancelled because the shoes had sold out, and TVSN doubled its next order.

"Seeing Australian customers embrace our designs was incredibly rewarding," says Reed. "We had worked hard to build that relationship, and that real response gave us confidence that we were developing a meaningful new market for Minx."

The stock sold during Reed's most recent appearances was supplied on standard trade terms, and payment remains outstanding. As recently as last week, the businesses had finalised orders for next winter, again at double the size of the previous order.

"We were planning for growth," says Reed. "Now we are facing a six-figure sum outstanding, without clear information about how or when we will be paid."

Direct Group has publicly described the closing down sale as a contingency that could be stopped if a buyer is secured.

Reed says Minx has received a supplier letter advising of the potential closure, but has not received a clear payment timetable or sufficient financial information to understand the prospects of recovering its outstanding balance.

Despite the setback, Minx is trading as normal around the globe with its retail partners in Scotland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  New collections are in development, with new season stock arriving in two weeks. 

"It's a real blow, but whatever happens with TVSN, nothing changes the response we saw from customers across the Tasman," says Reed. "That demand is real, and we're going to keep building on it."

Reed says her concern extends to the TVSN staff, presenters and production teams who helped introduce Minx to viewers across Australia and New Zealand.

"I feel terribly sad for the people who have worked tirelessly to make TVSN what it is. They created a special way for customers to discover products, hear directly from designers and feel part of a community. We have valued their enthusiasm, professionalism and care."

"We still hope the right investor or buyer will come forward and preserve the business and its people," says Reed. "Alongside that hope, suppliers need answers. Behind every outstanding invoice is another business, another team and years of work."

ENDS