Overview
- David Jones' directors appointed McGrathNicol as voluntary administrators and a major creditor appointed FTI Consulting as receiver, a dual control situation that began on Thursday and leaves the firms to contest how the business is run.
- Stores remain open for trade but dozens of concession brands have already pulled stock and suppliers say invoices went unpaid for months, leaving shelves stripped and suppliers exposed.
- Administrators and receivers are assessing options that include recapitalisation, a sale or drastic downsizing of the 38-store network to as few as about 12 locations, and a creditors meeting is scheduled for next week.
- Anchorage Capital, which bought David Jones in 2022, has indicated it may bid after any restructure, while gift-card acceptance was still operating but could change and roughly 6,000 jobs are at risk.
- The collapse reflects deep structural problems: more than $1 billion in lease liabilities from prior sale-and-leaseback deals, a failed transformation plan and long-term pressure from online and specialist retailers that have hollowed out department-store economics.