Catch, the Australian online retailer formerly known as Catch of the Day, has been shut down and wound up as a standalone business after several years of financial losses and intense competition in online retail. Its warehouses and some of its technology and staff have been absorbed into other Wesfarmers brands like Kmart, while the Catch marketplace and website are being phased out.

What happened to Catch?

  • Catch struggled with heavy losses as competition from Amazon, Temu, Shein and other big e‑commerce players surged in Australia.
  • Wesfarmers, which bought Catch in 2019 for about $230 million, decided in 2025 to wind it down instead of continuing to operate it as an independent online marketplace.
  • The business is ceasing trading as a standalone brand around the fourth quarter of the 2025 financial year, meaning customers can no longer use it as they did during its “daily deals” heyday.

Why did Catch close?

  • Sales fell sharply after peaking in 2021, as cheaper and more aggressive global rivals pulled Australian bargain‑hunters away from Catch.
  • Catch was expected to post tens of millions of dollars in operating losses for the 2024–25 half year, and Wesfarmers judged that its other chains with strong in‑store plus online (“omnichannel”) models had better growth prospects.

What happened to staff and warehouses?

  • Catch’s fulfilment centres in Moorebank (NSW) and Truganina (VIC) are being transferred to Kmart Group so they can be reused for other Wesfarmers retail operations.
  • Around 190 roles are being cut, while about 100 e‑commerce and digital roles are being redeployed into other Wesfarmers businesses such as Kmart, Target and Bunnings where possible.

How are people reacting online?

  • Australian forum and Reddit users have been sharing nostalgic stories about the “Catch of the Day” era, when the site was known for limited‑time deals and cheap gadgets from local warehouses.
  • Many commenters say Catch lost its edge after rebranding to “Catch” and becoming more like a generic marketplace, especially once global platforms and ultra‑cheap Chinese marketplaces entered Australia.

TL;DR: Catch didn’t disappear because of a single scandal or event; it was gradually overwhelmed by tougher online competition, falling sales and ongoing losses, leading its owner Wesfarmers to close it down and fold its assets and some staff into other retail brands.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.