Australia's oldest department store David Jones collapses after 188 years

Australia’s oldest department store, David Jones, collapses after 188 years

Australia’s oldest department store, David Jones, has entered voluntary administration.

David Jones, the country’s oldest department store chain, has gone into voluntary administration, placing thousands of jobs at risk.

The move follows years of financial difficulty for the 188-year-old retailer, known locally as DJs, as shoppers have shifted away from traditional stores toward online shopping.

According to voluntary administrators McGrathNicol, David Jones’s physical and online stores will keep trading while receivers FTI Consulting examine the company.

“David Jones is an iconic company and so many Australians have stories and memories of visiting DJ's stores,” said CEO Erica Berthold, adding that the brand has a “well-developed plan” to “reset the business for the future”.

Berthold also thanked “customers, our team members and our partners for their continued support of David Jones through this period”.

David Jones has about 6,000 employees and 38 physical stores, including 17 in Westfield shopping centres.

Just hours before the board decided to enter administration, Scentre, the owner of Westfield, said the retailer had failed to pay October rent and was “therefore in breach” of its tenancy agreement.

“We understand the current retail trading environment, rising costs, a significant and outdated retail footprint, and supply chain challenges have led to this point,” said Christopher Hill of receivers FTI Consulting.

Hill said appointing administrators and receivers would give David Jones “breathing space” and an opportunity to restructure the business.

For many Australians, David Jones and its trademark black-and-white houndstooth pattern stood for luxury.

But its downfall marked the “death knell” for the department store model, said Jana Bowden, who teaches marketing at Macquarie University’s Business School.

“It was once the epitome of glamour shopping in Australia - the Aussie version of Harrods,” she said, “a place you would go to see and be a part of the glitz and glamour, where you could marvel at all the premium luxury labels, and feel like you'd made it.”

A trip to the flagship Sydney city store was also a tradition for many Australian families, particularly to view the festive Christmas window displays.

“People would travel from hours away from the city just to see those windows and experience the magic,” Bowden said, but in recent years the brand had lost its shine.

“The city stores have retained their upper end airs and graces, but the suburban stores leave a lot to be desired – they're mundane, they lack excitement and there's definitely no glitz,” she said.