David Jones will close 19 of its 38 stores by the end of the year, receivers FTI Consulting announced on Wednesday, in the biggest contraction in the 188-year-old retailer’s history.
The stores, mostly in suburban shopping centres across Australia and New Zealand, will keep trading for now, and no final closure date has been set for any of them. Staff at the affected stores were told on Wednesday and a seven-day consultation period has begun.
FTI’s Christopher Hill, David McGrath and Joanne Dunn were appointed receivers last week by the retailer’s secured lender, Hilco Capital, after David Jones entered voluntary administration on 5 November. McGrathNicol was appointed administrator. The collapse followed the breakdown of talks with Scentre Group, the retailer’s largest landlord, over closures and rent relief. Scentre said David Jones had not paid rent since September.
“Whilst the impacts are highly regrettable, the receivers believe the steps are unavoidable if David Jones is to continue as a viable business and these measures will help give David Jones the best chance for a sustainable future,” FTI said in a statement.
The restructure follows a plan David Jones and its owner, Anchorage Capital Partners, had put to landlords before the collapse: keep 12 stores open at full rent and another seven if landlords agreed to rent relief, while closing the remaining 19.
Seven of the closures are in New South Wales — Green Hills, Hornsby, Macarthur Square, Macquarie Centre, Parramatta, Warringah Mall and Wollongong Central. Three are in Victoria — Glen Waverley, Highpoint and Malvern Central — and three in Western Australia — Carousel, Garden City and Hay Street Mall. Two each will close in Queensland, at Robina Town Centre and Sunshine Plaza, and in South Australia, at Marion and West Lakes. The Woden store in Canberra will also close, along with the chain’s only New Zealand store, at Westfield Newmarket in Auckland.
The flagship stores on Elizabeth Street in Sydney and Bourke Street in Melbourne will stay open. The Hay Street Mall store in central Perth is the only city flagship set to close.
David Jones employs more than 6,000 people, and the receivers have not said how many jobs will be lost. The retailer owes suppliers about $100 million, according to the Australian Financial Review, and reported a pre-tax loss of A$95.5 million in the 2024-25 financial year, up from A$74 million the year before.
Administrators have given creditors until Monday, 16 November, to lodge proofs of debt ahead of the first creditors’ meeting on Tuesday. Expressions of interest to buy the business were due by close of business on Friday.
Founded in 1838, David Jones is Australia’s oldest department store. Its administrators say the smaller network, built around the surviving flagship and suburban stores, is intended to give the business a viable future — but whether a buyer can be found for even that rump remains the open question.
Sources: Commercial Real Estate, “David Jones to close 19 stores in major retail restructure” (https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/david-jones-19-store-closures-1581579/); Inside Retail Australia, “David Jones receivers announce closure of half its stores” (https://insideretail.com.au/news/david-jones-receivers-reportedly-set-to-announce-closure-of-half-its-stores-202611); Australian Associated Press via Newcastle Herald local news (https://times.localnews.com.au/story/9389966/hunter-david-jones-stores-green-hills-to-shut-as-kotara-saved/).
