Celebrity businesses in Australia you forgot about
Failed celebrity businesses in Australia revealed. Picture: Supplied
Opening a business in another country is never easy, especially if you’re rich and famous.
While some celebrity ventures have been a money maker overseas, others have missed the mark after launching in Australia.
Here are some of the biggest celebrity business failures Down Under.
Planet Hollywood
Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan at launch of Planet Hollywood Sydney.
Founded by US film producer turned entrepreneur Keith Barish and Robert Earl, Planet Hollywood opened its first restaurant on Wall Street in New York City in 1991.
It was pitched as a brand-new concept, a glitzy glimpse into Hollywood thanks to movie memorabilia, costumes and set pieces on display, matched with what was essentially upscale junk food.
Backed by Hollywood heavyweights Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Sylvester Stallone, the celebrities generated valuable PR for the brand and did energetic in-person appearances which drew huge crowds.
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were principal shareholders of Planet Hollywood.
Jean-Claude Van Damme at opening of Sydney’s Planet Hollywood restaurant.
Downstairs main entrance to Planet Hollywood, Sydney.
Wall of Stars, handprints on stairway at Planet Hollywood, Sydney.
From 1991, Planet Hollywood rapidly expanded, adding dozens of restaurants across the globe. There were more star signings, with Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Cindy Crawford jumping on board.
The 32nd restaurant in the Planet Hollywood chain opened in Sydney on May 26 1996.
Stallone, Van Damme, Willis and Charlie Sheen, supermodel Cindy Crawford and illusionist David Copperfield helped officially open the 350-seat restaurant.
In August 1997, Melbourne’s ‘Planet’ opened inside Crown Casino.
While the opening was subdued given the news, the event was still the hottest ticket in town, with fans lining what was the longest red carpet in the southern hemisphere to see stars arrive.
While after two bankruptcies, the revived chain still exists overseas, it only lasted a few years Down Under, with both restaurants, each in sought-after locations, closed by the early 2000s.
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George Clooney at Planet Hollywood in Melbourne.
Koala Blue
Olivia Newton-John and her friend Pat Carroll launched US-based sportswear company Koala Blue in 1983.
At the height of its success, the brand had more than 60 stores in Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, France, the US and Australia, amassing more than $25m annually in sales.
“I love fashion, and watching it go from the drawing board to the finished product,” Newton-John told the LA Times in 1988.
“We found that only the merchandise that had Koala Blue on it was very successful, so we focused on that.”
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Olivia Newton-John in her LA shop Koala Blue to promote Australia.
As Koala Blue expanded, it also ran into trouble and was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1991.
The “Grease star” blamed the company collapse on too much too soon.
“We expanded so fast when the (1990s) recession hit, we got really hurt,” Newton-John said in a statement at the time
Jamie’s Italian
Jamie’s Italian in Perth. Picture: Jordan Shields
Jamie Oliver first launched his restaurant, Jamie’s Italian, in the UK in 2008.
The eatery went on to have 42 different restaurants across the world and included branches in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.
At its peak in Australia, there were Jamie’s Italian restaurants in Sydney CBD and Parramatta, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.
However, the restaurant franchise had a bumpy history in Down Under. In 2016, its owner Keystone Group went into receivership and the celebrity chef’s group bought the chain back.
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Jamie Oliver. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Less than a year after relaunching the restaurant, Jamie’s Italian went into administration.
By 2019, Oliver’s British restaurant chain, including Barbecoa, Jamie Oliver’s Diner and Fifteen, filed for bankruptcy protection in the UK.
The TV chef admitted he “honestly (didn’t) know” why his company was failing but claimed a “perfect storm” of “rents, rates, the high street declining, food costs, Brexit, (and) increase in the minimum wage” was to blame.
Gordon Ramsay’s Maze in Melbourne
Gordon Ramsay’s Melbourne restaurant Maze.
Gordon Ramsay suffered his own kitchen nightmares when his Australian restaurants, Maze and Maze Grill closed in 2011, little more than a year after opening.
Located at the Crown Metropol Hotel in Melbourne, the restaurants were reportedly put into liquidation by Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) after management changes.
“Since the recent change in management at GRH, we have been conducting business reviews of all of our group operations,” a spokesperson for Ramsay said at the time.
“The decision has been taken to put maze and maze Grill, Melbourne, into liquidation as we have concluded that the business is not sustainable.
“Unfortunately, this course has become the only option as it is essential to focus on the health of the wider group.”
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Gordon Ramsay.
Crown expressed its disappointment of the restaurants’ closure.
“Crown Melbourne is disappointed by the decision taken by Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd to place maze and maze Grill restaurant at Crown into liquidation,” the casino and hotel said in a statement.
“The restaurant is one of the highest-grossing and most popular restaurants in Australia.
“The restaurant will continue to trade with Crown’s involvement. Crown is firmly of the view that the business is not only sustainable, but will continue to be popular and highly successful.”
Over the years, the celebrity chef had several restaurants worldwide close including Amaryllis, Aubergine and The Boxwood Cafe in the UK; The Fat Cow in the US; Gordon Ramsay at Powerscourt in Ireland in 2013; Gordon Ramsay at The London in the US in 2015, and Maze at Czech Republic in 2009.
Purely Byron
Purely Byron’s moisturiser. Picture: Instagram
In 2023, Elsa Pataky’s skincare line Purely Byron went into voluntary administration less than a year after it was launched.
The wife of Australian actor Chris Hemsworth co-founded the product and was backed by her husband.
The actress and model helped develop the skincare range using local botanical ingredients that claimed it would “level up” your skin.
The mum-of-three came up with the idea when she moved to Byron Bay in 2014.
“When I moved [here], I immediately felt connected to Byron Bay’s natural beauty,” she told Grazia magazine at the time of the brand’s launch.
“I started discovering all these natural botanicals, which are so powerful and clinically proven – they really work.
“I fell in love with all the different ingredients that grow here, so when the idea came about to make it happen with my co-founders, I was so excited.”
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Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky. Picture: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
Pataky’s business had a troubled start with accusations she had taken ideas from an Aussie mum’s start-up.
The company disputed claims it copied Keira Rumble’s clean and sustainable skincare brand, Habitual Beauty.
Cameron Gray and Justin Holzman of DW Advisory were appointed as administrators of Purely Byron after the skincare range collapsed.
F45
F45. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall
Founded by Adam Gilchrist (not the cricketer) and Rob Deutsche, F45 opened its first gym in Sydney in 2011.
Described as “high-intensity functional group workouts”, the business quickly expanded with hundreds of franchises in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
In 2019, actor Mark Wahlberg purchased a minority stake in the business in a deal financed by his investment firm and FOD Capital.
The fitness empire debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2021 at $US16 ($A24.75) per share. The company made $500 million on the first day.
Mr Deutsch left F45 in February 2020. He sold his stake for an estimated $224 million before the fitness chain listed on the NYSE.
By 2022, the stock price plummeted and was delisted by the NYSE a year later. By that time, its share price had fallen below $US1 ($A1.49).
Mr Gilchrist stepped down as CEO in July 2022 along with other key executives and directors.
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Former F45 owner Rob Deutsch (right), with Mark Wahlberg, who bought a minority stake in the company in 2019. Picture: Instagram / F45 Training
In recent years, multiple F45 gyms went bust in Australia while dozens more were up for sale.
Wahlberg is still on the F45 board and remains as the company’s chief brand officer.
The fitness brand attracted a slew of celebrities, spending big on endorsement deals with the likes of David Beckham, Greg Norman and Magic Johnson.
But both Beckham and Norman sued F45 alleging the business had failed to pay them $US15 million ($A23 million) owed in return for promoting the brand.
Last year, the sporting legends settled their lawsuits with the embattled fitness group.
Beckham’s business DB Ventures Limited, released a statement at that time saying: “We are pleased to have settled this issue and to retain our investment in F45, and wish the team all the best for the future.”
Dinner by Heston
Dinner by Heston in Melbourne. Picture: Supplied
Heston Blumenthal’s Australian restaurant, Dinner By Heston, opened at Crown Melbourne in 2015.
After four years, the eatery was placed into voluntary administration. The move came after the business failed to meet a Fair Word Ombudsman deadline to back pay staff $4.5 million worth in wages and entitlements.
According to records, the company made a loss of $492,004 in 2018 and a loss of $308,526 in 2017.
Tipsy Cake Pty Ltd, the firm which owns the restaurant, blamed Crown for its collapse, saying it was a “partner” in the business and “who were responsible for advising on the staff remuneration blueprint for the restaurant.”
Crown rejected the claim, saying “Tipsy Cake at all times was responsible for paying its staff and determined hours and shifts worked.”
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Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.
While the restaurant sports the celebrity chef’s name, Blumenthal does not own Dinner By Heston. The business operated under a licence arrangement.
However, the Michelin star chef was present at the restaurant’s launch and was promoted as the mastermind behind the brand and exotic dishes.
Blumenthal was a regular at the venue and had promoted it.
