Key facts
- Receiver FTI Consulting said it began immediate consultation for staff at 19 stores identified for closure.
- FTI said the 19 stores will keep trading for now and are expected to cease trading by the end of the year.
- David Jones employs more than 6,000 staff across 38 stores, FTI said.
- Under a dual appointment, FTI has day-to-day control while administrators McGrathNicol seek a buyer or fresh capital.
- Administrators said some small suppliers are owed money for stock sent in April, before David Jones missed rent payments.
- Private equity owner Anchorage Capital is expected to propose re-purchasing the 188-year-old chain, the report said.
David Jones will close 19 of its 38 department stores under what receiver FTI Consulting called an "urgent restructure of the business", FTI said in a statement on November 11, 2026. FTI said it had begun an immediate consultation process for all staff associated with the 19 stores identified for closure.
The stores will keep trading for the immediate term, and while FTI said there is no final date for the closures, it anticipates they will cease trading by the end of the year. David Jones employs more than 6,000 staff across the 38 stores.
FTI holds day-to-day control of operations under a dual appointment, while administrators McGrathNicol seek a buyer or a fresh injection of capital. The chain collapsed into voluntary administration in the week before November 11, 2026, after years of losses as it failed to carve out a profitable niche in a sector disrupted by online competitors and stand-alone upmarket stores.
In documents released late on November 10, 2026, David Jones's administrators said they had reviewed the finances of the private equity-owned chain months before it fell into administration. Some small suppliers are owed money dating back to stock sent in April, before David Jones missed rent payments and entered administration.
Anchorage Capital, the private equity owner, has long sought a slimmed down version of David Jones free from long-term leases on underperforming sites, and is expected to make a proposal to administrators to re-purchase the 188-year-old chain, according to the report.
The stores identified for closure are Carousel, Garden City and Hay Street Mall in Western Australia; Glen Waverley, Highpoint and Malvern Central in Victoria; Green Hills, Hornsby, Macarthur Square, Macquarie Centre, Parramatta, Warringah Mall and Wollongong Central in New South Wales; Marion and West Lakes in South Australia; Newmarket in New Zealand; Robina Town Centre and Sunshine Plaza in Queensland; and Woden in the Australian Capital Territory.