A department store that has stood for nearly two centuries now faces the loss of half its doors, not because the story of retail has suddenly turned, but because a familiar pattern has arrived again: a business strained by rent and a changing market, its owners quiet until the moment of reckoning. Its fate now rests with administrators, prospective buyers, and the landlords who hold the keys to its shopping centres. Those who once shopped its aisles and those who still work them wait to learn whether the old name can be carried forward by new hands or whether it will be reduced to a smaller ve
Half of David Jones stores set to close as administrators seek rescue buyer
Up to 6000 staff face job uncertainty as up to half of the chain's stores may be shuttered.
If you don't have a unique offer, it's a race to the bottom with price
Mark
Why does this story matter beyond one retailer?
Mimi
Because up to 6000 people work there, and half the stores may close. Suppliers, landlords and staff are all waiting on the same announcement.
Mark
The documents suggest the owner saw this coming. What do they show?
Mimi
Anchorage's lawyers had McGrathNicol review limited financials in April. There was a July 27 meeting on restructuring, then a gap until late October.
Luke
Worth being careful there. The documents show meetings and requests. They don't tell us what was decided or why there was a gap.
Mark
And the 19 closures?
Mimi
The AFR reported that the retailer's own earlier plan would have closed 19 stores. The same number is now expected in the announcement.
Luke
But the 19 comes from media reports. FTI hasn't confirmed it yet, and the list of sites is only what's believed.
Mark
FTI says sales are at record levels.
Luke
With no figures and no comparison period. It's a claim, not a measurement, especially while brands pull stock.
Mimi
Charles Lloyd Jones, the last family member in the business, says a chain without a unique offer is racing to the bottom on price.
Luke
He left in 1993, so that's a view from outside the current management. The sale to Anchorage again is also just a report.
Le Pouls
- Administrators are expected to confirm that 19 of David Jones' 38 stores will close, a blow that lands on suppliers and shoppers alike.
- Records suggest the owner saw danger coming in July and April, yet little was done until the company was already falling.
- Suitors from home and abroad are circling, with expressions of interest due Friday and a creditors' meeting next Tuesday.
- Up to 6000 staff sit in uncertainty while administrators seek more time to find a buyer or fresh capital.
- Claims of record sales since the collapse remain unproven, leaving the store's true health in question as the decision point approaches.
A department store that has stood for nearly two centuries now faces the loss of half its doors, not because the story of retail has suddenly turned, but because a familiar pattern has arrived again: a business strained by rent and a changing market, its owners quiet until the moment of reckoning. Its fate now rests with administrators, prospective buyers, and the landlords who hold the keys to its shopping centres. Those who once shopped its aisles and those who still work them wait to learn whether the old name can be carried forward by new hands or whether it will be reduced to a smaller version of what it was.
On Wednesday, suppliers were expected to learn that 19 of David Jones' 38 stores would close. For a department chain 188 years old, it is a deep cut, and it follows a plan the retailer had itself floated: keep 12 stores at full rent and seven more if landlords agreed to relief, letting the rest go. Many of the sites sit inside Westfield centres, with others in malls run by GPT, Stockland and Vicinity.
The collapse came after rescue talks with landlords failed. FTI now runs the business day to day, while McGrathNicol acts as administrator and searches for a buyer or fresh capital. Documents show the owner, Anchorage Capital, discussed restructuring in July but then went quiet until late October. The chief executive did not meet the administrators until October 28, and the day before the collapse, a group director asked for appointment papers ahead of a board meeting. Anchorage had also been watching the risk since April.
Still, the store's future is not settled. Suitors are circling, bids close Friday, and the first creditors' meeting falls next Tuesday. The meeting that will decide the company's fate could slip by three months. Behind the numbers stand up to 6000 staff, waiting.
Former family member Charles Edward Lloyd Jones, who left the business in 1993, knows the place well. Without a distinct offer, he warns, the store becomes a race to the bottom on price, with cuts and poorer service following. Any new owner, he suggests, must shrink to what works, offer something unique, and put managers back on the shop floor. He admits he has wandered the store looking for someone to help him too many times. For the staff, he simply says, "If I was working there I would be shattered."
Later on Wednesday, suppliers to David Jones are expected to hear from administrators FTI Consulting that 19 of the retailer's 38 stores will close. That is the account in media reports, and it would take half the network of a department chain that is 188 years old.
The company went into administration last Thursday after rescue talks with its landlords failed. Hilco appointed FTI as receivers to run the business day to day. A second firm, McGrathNicol, is the administrator and is looking for a buyer or fresh capital.
The closure list echoes a plan the retailer itself had floated. According to the Australian Financial Review, David Jones had wanted to keep 12 stores open at full rent and another seven open if landlords gave rent relief. The remaining 19 would have closed. The paper reported that nine of the sites expected to be in the closure announcement are in Westfield centres owned by ASX-listed Scentre, with others in malls owned by GPT, Stockland and Vicinity. A separate media report suggests the collapsed business could be sold back to its current owner, the private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners.
Documents published late on Tuesday add a timeline. Creditors were told that on July 27, McGrathNicol, representatives of Anchorage (including David Jones group director Simon Woodhouse) and lender Hilco Capital met to discuss the retailer's financial performance and possible restructuring scenarios. Then nothing further until late October. David Jones chief executive Erica Berchtold did not meet McGrathNicol until October 28, when contingency planning took place. On November 4, the day before the collapse, Woodhouse spoke twice to administrator Shaun Fraser and asked for draft appointment documents for a board meeting the next morning.
The papers also show Anchorage was alert to the risk much earlier. In April, law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, acting for Anchorage, engaged McGrathNicol to review and analyse limited financial information about David Jones.
FTI said on Monday that sales and customer traffic have reached record levels since the collapse, even as fashion brands pull stock from stores and suppliers hold back deliveries. It gave no sales figures or comparison period to back the claim.
Australian and overseas suitors are reportedly circling, and administrators have set a Friday deadline for expressions of interest. The first creditors' meeting is next Tuesday. Administrators say they will seek more time to pursue a sale or recapitalisation, which could push a key second meeting, the one that decides the company's future, back by three months.
Charles Edward Lloyd Jones, 68, knows the business from inside. A fifth-generation member of the founding family, and the last to work there, he left in 1993 after managing stores including Chatswood, Bankstown and Bondi Junction. Without a unique offer, he says, "it's a race to the bottom with price," which leads to staff cuts and worse service. Asked if he had ever wandered David Jones hunting for someone to serve him, he answered: "Too many times."
He expects any new owner to shrink floor space and store numbers and offer something distinct, or face the same position in three to five years. He also wants managers out from behind their desks and on the shop floor. Up to 6000 staff work for David Jones. "If I was working there I would be shattered," he said. What to watch: Friday's bids, next Tuesday's creditors' meeting, and whether the second meeting is delayed.
Citations marquantes
If you don't have a unique offer, then it's a race to the bottom with price.— Charles Edward Lloyd Jones, former David Jones store manager and family member
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur PerthNow ↗
Weather & Disasters