David Jones will close 19 of its 38 stores and cut thousands of jobs from a workforce of about 6,000, after receivers appointed to the collapsed department store chain decided its store network was no longer financially sustainable.
The 188-year-old retailer entered voluntary administration on 5 November after rent negotiations with its major landlord Westfield broke down. It is the first insolvency in the chain’s history, and the closures, announced to staff and suppliers on Wednesday 11 November, will halve its footprint across Australia and New Zealand.
What the receivers decided
Receivers from FTI Consulting said they had made a “difficult decision” to proceed with an “urgent restructure” in line with the plan put forward by owner…