David Jones is renovating four stores in NSW and two in Victoria,most of which have relinquished entire floors back to landlords as consumers browse the outlets of standalone brands and shop online rather than in person.
David Jones has been quietly scaling down the size of some stores. Pictured:David Jones Sydney CBD.Michael Quelch
“Ten years ago,department stores were the dominant physical retail channel in this country,” said Brian Walker,founder of consulting firm RetailDoctor. “David Jones and Myer together were approximately a $5.5[billion],$6 billion business.
“What’s changed in that window is,of course,internet retail. It’s moved from e-commerce to omnichannel commerce. So as a consequence,we shop across channels,and there’s just less demand now on these department stores for the physical space.”
In Sydney,David Jones’ Bondi Westfield store is being refurbished. It will reopen in mid-2025 with only three floors after relinquishing one full floor and part of another.Chatswood Chase and Burwood,which had three floors,are trading across one floor while renovations are under way,and they will shrink to two. The Burwood store will reopen before Christmas and Chatswood Chase is expected to reopen in late 2025.
David Jones’ Wollongong store shut its food hall and relinquished a floor in the middle of last year.
David Jones Bourke Street Mall store in Melbourne.Paul Rovere
In Melbourne,David Jones’ Southland store has started a two-year renovation and will trim one floor and part of another floor to reopen across two floors in June 2026. Refurbishments to the Chadstone and Bourke Street Mall stores will be complete by August,with no changes to the footprint.
A spokesperson for David Jones said it was focused on delivering world-class experiences for customers online and in person.
“Key to delivering this experience is our ongoing program of retail network optimisation,through investment in our stores and right-sizing,” the spokesperson said.
Walker said bricks-and-mortar stores were becoming less about the product and more about the experience.
“People go there for things like show-rooming,which is to talk to staff,touch products,get expertise. Increasingly,retailers are finding that customers are buying their product online prior to even going into the shop,or buying online after they’ve been to the shop.”
Among the world’s oldest department stores
Luxury department store chain David Jones was founded by Welsh-born immigrant David Jones in 1838. It is,Bergdorf Goodman in New York and Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
The opening day of a David Jones store in Sydney in May 1938. Sam Hood/Mitchell Library,State Library of NSW
South African retailer Woolworths Holdings (no relation to the Australian supermarket) bought the department store for $2.1 billion in 2014 and sold it to Sydney-based private equity firm Anchorage Capital eight years later for a.
David Jones has 43 stores across the country. Myer has about 55. Myer’s recently departed chief executive,John King,oversaw a strategy that and bring the then-struggling retailer back to profitability.
IBISWorld estimates David Jones will notch $2.2 billion in revenue this year and Myer will post $2.8 billion,as department stores recover modestly after being hamstrung by lockdowns and the lengthy pause in tourist flow.
“Despite efforts to cut costs and revive foot traffic,David Jones’ profitability has waned,” says an IBISWorld industry report.
As cost-of-living pressures rise,consumers have pulled back on spending and traded down on discretionary purchases for more affordable alternatives. The likes of Amazon and and Temu have also rapidly gained market share in Australia.
Myer,which has been downsizing for years,has shut a swath of its stores including Blacktown,Wollongong,Orange and Hornsby in NSW;Knox and Frankston in Victoria;Brisbane CBD;Belconnen in the ACT;and Colonnades in South Australia.
Last year,Myer refurbished its Tea Tree Plaza store in South Australia and reopened as three instead of four floors. It also renovated and gave up some floor space in its Chermside store last October.
RetailOasis co-director Trent Rigby believes,former Qantas Loyalty head Olivia Wirth,will make announcements soon about store footprint.
Rigby said:“David Jones has a lot of greater brand awareness. But David Jones plays to more of an upmarket or premium customer,whereas Myer more plays around that middle ground. We just know from what we’ve seen – and we’re seeing this exact same thing play out overseas – is that that middle market department store is really getting pushed out of the market.”
Shoppers rushing into a Myer store for Boxing Day sales in 2016.Eddie Jim
“People are either going up;they either want to buy quality,or on the flip side,they want to buy value.”
Australia’s department store moves are part of a global trend,as the sector seeks to find the right model to cater for the increasingly online consumer. Rigby said the likes of Sears,Marks&Spencer and Nordstrom had been busy closing stores.
Australia’s two main department store chains will need to do better at capturing the younger demographic. “They’re not really talking to those digital natives like Gen Y or Gen Z,” said Rigby.
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