Catch.com.au
Defunct Australian discount marketplace, once Wesfarmers-owned, closed 30 April 2025.
On the record
Checkpoint: Wesfarmers FY2026 results disclose Kmart Group's integration benefit from absorbed Catch fulfilment centres
The call
Catch.com.au is closed, its mobile arm renamed OnePass mobile, and its warehouses folded into Kmart Group; there is no ongoing entity left to compete for anything.
Catch.com.au was an online store selling discounted goods, competing against Amazon Australia, Temu, Shein, and Kogan. It lost money year after year ($96 million loss on $227 million in sales in its final year) and could not turn that around even with Wesfarmers as owner and investor. The company ran out of time and closed on April 30, 2025, because selling cheap stuff online without a special advantage (like exclusive products, a loyal customer base, or lower costs than rivals) is extremely hard to do profitably when bigger players like Amazon and Temu are already doing the same thing better.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. Catch no longer operates, so no AI product can take share from a business that has already closed. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Amazon Australia, Temu, Shein, Kogan. These rivals undercut Catch on price and range for years, helping drive it to $96M FY24 loss and full shutdown. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. None. Catch had no exclusive supply, no locked-in customers, and no parent patience left to fund further losses.
What would change this call
Kmart Group reports FY2026 earnings benefit from absorbed Catch fulfilment centres. Would show whether Catch's assets add value only inside Kmart, not as standalone retailer.
OnePass mobile (former Catch Connect) customer or revenue figures appear in Wesfarmers reporting. Would show whether the rebranded mobile business survives independently of Catch's marketplace failure.
Further investigative reporting (e.g. Capital Brief style pieces) details causes of Catch's collapse. Would clarify which competitor or cost factor most drove the shutdown, retrospectively.
OnePass mobile (former Catch Connect) customer or revenue figures appear in Wesfarmers reporting. Would show whether the rebranded mobile business survives independently of Catch's marketplace failure.
Further investigative reporting (e.g. Capital Brief style pieces) details causes of Catch's collapse. Would clarify which competitor or cost factor most drove the shutdown, retrospectively.
Key numbers
- FY2024 loss: $96M on $227M revenue
- Cumulative Wesfarmers-era losses exceeded $350M
- Ceased trading entirely on 30 April 2025
Named risks
- Company is fully dissolved as of 30 April 2025, no entity remains to invest in, join, or partner with.
- Brand confusion between defunct Catch.com.au, OnePass mobile, and Kmart Group absorbed operations.
- No structural moat existed; horizontal marketplace model was fully replicable by larger rivals.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Australia | losing to | Amazon AU hit ~$3B sales in 2023 and added 1.1M customers in FY2024 while Catch's revenue fell to $227M |
| Temu | losing to | Named by Wesfarmers on 2025-01-21 as a source of competitive intensity that made Catch unprofitable |
| Shein | losing to | Named by Wesfarmers on 2025-01-21 as a source of competitive intensity that made Catch unprofitable |
| Kogan.com | losing to | Cited alongside Amazon, Temu, Shein by Wesfarmers as competitive pressure leading to closure (2025-01-21) |
Questions people ask
- Is Catch.com.au still operating in 2026?
- No. Catch.com.au ceased trading entirely on 30 April 2025 after Wesfarmers announced its wind-down on 21 January 2025. CB Insights lists its stage as 'Dead' as of April 2025. About 100 staff were redeployed within Wesfarmers and roughly 190 roles were made redundant.
- Was Catch.com.au ever profitable under Wesfarmers?
- No. Catch posted losses every year under Wesfarmers ownership: $88M (FY2022), $163M (FY2023), and $96M (FY2024) on revenue that fell from $510M to $227M. Cumulative losses exceeded $350M between 2019 and 2025, leading to closure.
- Who owned Catch.com.au and why did it shut down?
- Wesfarmers acquired Catch Group Holdings for $230M cash, completed 12 August 2019. Wesfarmers cited rising competitive intensity from Amazon Australia, Kogan, Temu, and Shein as reasons Catch could not reach profitability, announcing wind-down on 21 January 2025.
- Did AI replace or kill Catch.com.au?
- No, AI was not the cause. Wesfarmers closed Catch due to sustained losses (over $350M cumulative) and competition from Amazon Australia, Kogan, Temu, and Shein, announced 21 January 2025. Its core listing and search functions were not defended by any AI or data moat.
- Who was Catch.com.au's biggest competitor?
- Wesfarmers explicitly named Amazon Australia, Kogan.com, Temu, and Shein as the competitors whose intensity made Catch unprofitable, per its 21 January 2025 wind-down announcement. Amazon Australia alone reported roughly $3B in 2023 sales.
- What happened to Catch Connect after Catch.com.au closed?
- Catch Connect, the mobile SIM business, was not shut down. It was rebranded to 'OnePass mobile' effective 1 May 2025 and continues operating under Wesfarmers, separate from the closed Catch.com.au marketplace.
Timeline
- 2026-01-28Capital Brief publishes retrospective 'The untold story of how Wesfarmers killed Catch.com.au'
- 2025-05-28Wesfarmers details Catch wind-down costs ($50-60M) and OneDigital update
- 2025-05-01Catch Connect rebrands to OnePass mobile, continues operating separately
- 2025-04-30Catch.com.au ceases trading and selling products entirely
- 2025-01-21Wesfarmers announces Catch wind-down amid mounting losses
- 2022-04Catch moved into new Wesfarmers division OneDigital alongside OnePass
- 2019-08-12Wesfarmers completes $230M cash acquisition of Catch Group Holdings
- 2017-06Catch of the Day rebrands to Catch, expands into New Zealand
- 2006-10Catch (as Catch of the Day) founded by Gabby and Hezi Leibovich
Revision history
26 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Catch.com.au (2025-04-29)
- Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations (2025-04-21)
- Catch Connect is now OnePass mobile (2025-04-30)
- Completion of Acquisition of Catch Group Holdings Limited (2019-08-11)
- Online retailer Catch to be shut down within months after haemorrhaging millions (2025-01-20)
- Catch.com.au to close down (2025-01-22)
- news.com.au (2025-01-21)
- Catch: Online retailer Catch to be shut down within months after haemorrhaging millions (2025-01-20)
- Catch wind down and OneDigital update (2025-05-28)
- The one that got away (2025-01-21)
- Catch Me if You Can (2014-03-17)
- Catch Group rebrands 'Catch of the Day' as it looks to expand into New Zealand (2017-06-05)