EXCLUSIVE
Rebel has withdrawn Kangaroos rugby league jerseys from sale after killer Joel Cauchi wore one of the green and gold jerseys during his stabbing at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction.
Disturbing images of Cauchi stalking shoppers in the Australian national team rugby league shirt began circulating after the April 13 attack and have been widely published in the weeks since the massacre.
Rebel has a store on the fifth floor of the Bondi Junction shopping centre, on the same side of the shopping center where Cauchi killed five women and a man.
A Rebel spokesperson confirmed Monday that sales of Kangaroos clothing at that store and all online sales had temporarily stopped, but the company declined to comment further.
Daily Mail Australia understands the decision to withdraw the shirts was made shortly after the Bondi Junction attack in recognition of what had happened.
Clicking on the Kangaroos section of Rebel’s online selection of NRL fan gear takes customers to the message: “Sorry, no products were found for your search.”
Rebel has withdrawn from sale Kangaroos rugby league shirts like the one worn by killer Joel Cauchi in his Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing.
Daily Mail Australia understands the decision to withdraw the shirts was made shortly after the Bondi Junction attack in recognition of what had happened.
In December, the Rebels website advertised a range of 13 Kangaroos products, from t-shirts to training tops, tank tops and shorts.
Cauchi, originally from Queensland, was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 and had been sleeping rough since moving to Sydney.
He was shot dead by the first police officer on the scene, Inspector Amy Scott, after heroic members of the public tried to restrain him and retail staff locked customers in their stores.
The dead were: new mother Ashlee Good, 28, bride-to-be Dawn Singleton, 25, architect Jade Young, 47, security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, artist Pikria Darchia, 55 years old and economics student Yixuan Cheng, 27 years old.
A dozen others were seriously injured in the attack, including Good’s nine-month-old daughter.
An image taken after the massacre showed Inspector Scott crouching over Cauchi and calling for help as he lay dead on the ground.
Westfield Bondi Junction reopened its doors to shoppers on April 19, after management offered those affected by the atrocity the opportunity to walk through the complex a day early.
Images of Cauchi stalking shoppers in an Australian rugby league jersey began circulating after the April 13 attack and have been posted around the world.
A Rebel spokesperson confirmed Monday that sales of Kangaroos clothing at that store and all online sales had temporarily stopped, but the company declined to comment further.
It is understood that it would not have been practical to remove all pieces of Kangaroos kit from all Rebel stores across the country, but many outlets outside Bondi Junction were not selling the shirts.
Visits and phone calls to several of Rebel’s 160 stores inquiring about T-shirt availability last week generated a variety of responses.
A member of staff at the chain’s store in King Street, Sydney, said there were no Kangaroos jerseys in stock and he was not expecting any to arrive “for a while”.
“They sell out very quickly,” he said, before recommending Mick Simmons Sport, just around the corner on George Street, as the best place to buy one.
Mick Simmons had the shirts in stock, but they were not available at the nearby Rebel store in the MidCity shopping center on Pitt Street.
One staff member initially said Kangaroos jerseys should be displayed near other rugby league merchandise and later stated that “we don’t normally get a lot of stuff from the national team” after consulting with a colleague.
Clicking on the Kangaroos section of Rebel’s online selection of NRL fan gear takes customers to the message: “Sorry, no products were found for your search.”
Stores in Randwick, Eastgardens and Broadway did not have Kangaroos sweaters and staff there offered several reasons for their absence, including one store that did not have any licensed products.
Before Rebel confirmed it had stopped sales, the general manager of Classic Sportswear, which makes the Kangaroos uniform, said he was not aware of any distributors removing jerseys from their shelves.
“No retailers have informed us that they have stopped sales of the Kangaroos range,” Michael McDonald told Daily Mail Australia.
Classic Sportswear has an exclusive partnership with the NRL to supply clothing for the Kangaroos, Jillaroos, Premiers XIII, Indigenous All Stars, Maori All Stars and Junior Kangaroos.
McDonald said the company’s last major supply of Kangaroos products to retailers was before international matches in October.
Westfield Bondi Junction reopened its doors to shoppers on April 19, after management offered those affected by the atrocity the opportunity to walk through the complex a day early.
“The new Kangaroos 2024 range won’t hit retailers until later this year, around September,” he said.
“When there are retailers who do not display Kangaroos products for sale, it is likely that they are out of stock at the moment.”
NRL sources were also unaware of any retailers suspending sales of Kangaroos equipment.
The shirts were still available at nrlshop.com and other retailers including Peter Wynn’s Score in Parramatta.
Rebel was founded in 1985 in Bankstown, south-west Sydney, and describes itself as “Australia’s leading sports retailer offering the widest variety and best-in-class global brands”.
It is owned by Super Retail Group, which also includes BCF, Macpac and Supercheap Auto.
