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Administrators appointed to department store David Jones

Administrators have been appointed to take over 188-year-old retail icon David Jones after talks with its landlords spectacularly collapsed this week.

Headshot of Adrian Lowe
Adrian Lowe
The Nightly
Customers who've been hoarding their David Jones gift cards are being told to use it or lose it as the iconic retailer shows signs of going under.

Administrators have been appointed to take over 188-year-old retail icon David Jones after talks with its landlords spectacularly collapsed this week.

The company’s private equity owner, Anchorage Capital, held a board meeting and decided to appoint McGrathNicol as voluntary administrators, with FTI Consulting also appointed as receivers.

They will run David Jones until it’s put up for sale, with decisions about possible store closures to come.

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Westfield owner Scentre Group revealed the department store chain has not paid rent since September 30 and that it rejected help to retain its staff.

David Jones previously posted a $95.5m loss to ASIC in 2025 following a $74.1m loss in 2024.

David Jones has 17 of its 38 stores located within Westfield shopping centres. Vicinity Centres has four David Jones stores in its malls, while GPT has three.

David Jones has also been embroiled in a long-running stand-off with suppliers over slow payments for stocks, which has led to brands — including luxury labels — pulling products or leaving the retailer altogether.

More to come...

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