David Jones has been quietly reducing its floor space in some stores as shoppers become more reluctant and deliberate about their purchases, with some experts predicting the same changes are coming for mid-market rival Myer. David Jones is renovating four stores in NSW and two in Victoria, most of which have relinquished entire floors back to landlords as consumers browse the outlets of standalone brands and shop online rather than in person. David Jones has been quietly scaling down the size of some stores.
Pictured: David Jones Sydney CBD. Credit: Michael Quelch “Ten years ago, department stores were the dominant physical retail channel in this country. David Jones and Myer together were approximately a $5.
5 [billion], $6 billion business,” said consulting firm RetailDoctor founder Brian Walker. “What’s changed in that window is, of course, internet retail. It’s moved from ecommerce to omnichannel commerce.
So as a consequence, we shop across channels, and there’s just less demand now on these department stores for the physical space.” In NSW, David Jones’ Bondi Westfield store is being refurbished. It will reopen mid-2025 with only three floors after relinquishing one full floor and part of another.
Chatswood Chase and Burwood, which had three floors, are trading across one floor while renovations are under way and they will shrink to two. The Burwood store will reopen before Christmas and Chatswood Chase is expected to reopen in late 2025. David Jones’ W.
