Daily newsletter · Thu 12 Nov 2026
David Jones will close half its stores, including its only one in New Zealand
The receivers running David Jones named the stores on Wednesday. Nineteen of the chain's 38 shops will stop trading by the end of the year, among them Newmarket in Auckland, its only site in New Zealand.
The chain is 188 years old. David Jones opened in Sydney in 1838 and went into voluntary administration last week. FTI Consulting's Christopher Hill, David McGrath and Joanne Dunn are running what they call an urgent restructure, and staff at the 19 stores have a seven-day consultation ahead of them.
New South Wales loses the most. Seven of its stores are going, including Parramatta, Hornsby, Macquarie Centre and Warringah Mall. Victoria and Western Australia lose three each, Queensland and South Australia two, and Canberra's Woden one.
The Australian consumer is under real pressure. The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised its cash rate five times this year, to 4.85%, and Commonwealth Bank said on Wednesday that home loan arrears had risen seven basis points to 0.80%.
Christmas. A half-sized David Jones has to trade through the quarter that pays for the year while its receivers hunt for a buyer. Neither the Sydney nor the Melbourne city store is on the closure list, which tells you where the chain thinks it still works.
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