Australia’s oldest department store is about to shrink by half. Receivers FTI Consulting announced on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, that David Jones will close 19 of its 38 stores across Australia and New Zealand before the end of the year, in what they described as an “urgent restructure” of the business.
The stores will keep trading for now during an immediate consultation process with staff, but are expected to cease trading by year-end — leaving workers in limbo through the busy Christmas period. David Jones employs more than 6,000 people across its 38 stores, so the closures put thousands of retail jobs at risk. No exact number of job losses has been confirmed.
Closures in every mainland state
The closures span every mainland state, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand: seven stores in New South Wales, three each in Victoria and Western Australia, two each in Queensland and South Australia, one in the ACT, and the chain’s only New Zealand store in Auckland.
Named stores include Carousel, Garden City and Hay Street Mall in Perth; Macquarie Centre, Parramatta, Warringah Mall, Hornsby, Green Hills, Macarthur Square and Wollongong Central in New South Wales; Highpoint, Glen Waverley and Malvern Central in Victoria; Robina Town Centre and Sunshine Plaza in Queensland; Marion and West Lakes in South Australia; Woden in the ACT; and Newmarket in New Zealand. No final closure date has been given for any individual store.
A 188-year-old chain in administration
David Jones was founded in 1838, making it 188 years old, but years of losses pushed it into voluntary administration last week, on 5 November 2026. The chain posted a $74 million loss in the 2024 financial year.
FTI Consulting now has day-to-day control as receiver, while administrators McGrathNicol seek a buyer or a fresh capital injection to keep some version of the chain alive. Secured lender Hilco Global appointed the receivers. Private-equity owner Anchorage Capital had long wanted a slimmed-down David Jones free of long-term leases on underperforming sites.
The announcement lands as a blow to Australian retail in the run-up to Christmas, traditionally the biggest trading weeks of the year. For thousands of staff, the festive season will now be spent waiting to learn whether their store — and their job — survives the restructure.
The news comes during a big week for Australian sport and entertainment too — from the Kangaroos and Jillaroos naming their World Cup final teams to Wayne Rooney’s arrival in Brisbane for I’m A Celebrity — but for retail workers, the David Jones announcement is the story that matters most.
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.