'If they're winning, we're winning': Suppliers on David Jones closures

Detailed summary

Some suppliers think a streamlined David Jones could be good news for their sales if it encourages more shoppers into fewer, higher-performing stores.

The affected stores are expected to continue trading through the peak seasonal period.

While news of David Jones's plans to close half of its stores may sadden some customers, some suppliers say a streamlined operation could boost sales by encouraging more shoppers into fewer, higher-performing stores.

On Wednesday, its receivers announced plans to close 19 of its 38 stores.

Owner of Spice brand Lord and Lion, Eresha De Zoysa, which has been stocked in the entire David Jones network for five years, said she was concerned the closures would wipe a significant amount of her business.

"The way that we were able to access people in communities that we ordinarily would not be able to access was by David Jones," she said.

"So even though, on the whole, those stores may not make commercial sense for Anchorage to keep or David Jones to keep … our brand did really well, and we were successful in those stores.

"It's a sad day, but I think we just have to be a bit more clever in how we're going to access [those customers]."

Documents seen by the ABC show an uncertain future for suppliers which have been asked to continue supplying the store despite unpaid debts.

Ms De Zoysa, a former corporate lawyer who has worked in administration and previously advised David Jones, said she had no doubt a restructured David Jones would succeed and thrive.

Opening of the article, excerpted from ABC Business. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.