David Jones to Close Seven NSW Stores as Landlords Hunt Tenants
David Jones will shut 19 of its 38 stores, including seven in New South Wales, after collapsing into administration. Receivers expect the closures by year's end, and mall owners across Sydney are weighing how to fill the vacated space.
David Jones will close seven stores in New South Wales (NSW) as part of a restructure that shuts 19 of its 38 stores, leaving thousands of workers without jobs after the Christmas trading period. The department store chain collapsed into voluntary administration a week earlier.
The NSW stores are at Macquarie Centre, Macarthur Square, Parramatta, Hornsby, Warringah Mall, Green Hills in East Maitland and Wollongong Central. Receivers FTI Consulting said the stores will keep trading for now. It expects them to cease trading by the end of the year, though no final closure date is set.
Where the closures fall
The chain employs more than 6,000 people. Beyond NSW, the closures include three stores each in Victoria and Western Australia, two each in Queensland and South Australia, one in the ACT, and the chain's only New Zealand store, in Auckland.
FTI said it had started consultation with all staff tied to the 19 stores. Under a dual appointment, FTI runs day-to-day operations while administrators McGrathNicol look for a buyer or new capital. The closures largely hit smaller-format stores and spare the city flagships.
Chief executive Erica Berchtold told suppliers: "Put simply, our store portfolio is no longer the right shape for the business." Primary secured lender Hilco Global will place its own representatives in the closing stores to speed up sales and promotions.
Private equity owner Anchorage Capital is expected to propose buying back the 188-year-old chain.
What fills the space
Landlords say demand is strong. Scentre Group, which operates Westfield centres, said its malls were "practically full". Chief executive Elliott Rusanow said: "We have a unique opportunity at 17 Westfield destinations to introduce and grow local and international brands and experiences that our customers want." Scentre has not said whether the Parramatta, Hornsby and Warringah Mall spaces will go to one tenant or several.
GPT, which manages Macquarie Centre and Macarthur Square, is assessing options for the space. A spokesperson said it has been "repositioning large-format space to meet changing customer needs".
Castle Towers in Castle Hill offers a preview. David Jones left that centre in January after 34 years. Its manager, QIC, split the space among several retailers, including JD Sports, Lululemon, LSKD, Nike, Universal Store and Kookai.
Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said he struggles to imagine one tenant taking over the Parramatta store. "In the old days... places like David Jones were actually the drawcard, and all of the smaller shops fed off the really big shops, but now I think it's almost reversing," he said.
Shopper Lana Burgess, at the Malvern Central store in Melbourne slated to close, said David Jones had become too expensive. "Now… everyone does their shopping online," she said.
