David Jones is restocking shelves for a busy Black Friday period after shoppers swarmed to visit the collapsed department store for what they thought could be the last time over the weekend.
The retailer’s receivers said David Jones was “fully operational” and placing new orders to replenish stock following high visitation levels after company directors surrendered the business last Thursday .
“Foot traffic and sales throughout David Jones stores and online has been at record levels, reinforcing the public’s love for David Jones and support for an iconic Australian brand,” said FTI Consulting receivers Christopher Hill, David McGrath and Joanne Dunn in a statement.
Any discounts or clearance sales in store or online will “continue to be reviewed” in coming weeks, they added, as consumers save up to do their Christmas shopping for what is now a month-long Black Friday period beginning in early November.
“We look forward to continuing to welcome customers into David Jones’ stores to enjoy the unique David Jones shopping experience.”
The receivers reported “very positive engagement” with brand partners and said shelves were being restocked despite “limited instances” of luxury and prestige brands abandoning their concession stands.
Employees will be the first to hear of any store closures, which continues to be reviewed, receivers said. Australian consumer law still applies to purchases made at David Jones, which is offering a 14-day window for change-of-mind purchases.
“There are no updates to communicate about David Jones’ retail footprint at this time,” said the FTI Consulting statement.
On Saturday, McGrathNicol restructuring partner Matthew Hutton said they had received an “extraordinary” level of interest from “a range of highly credible industry players and financial investors” in buying David Jones on top of the sales process they are running to gauge interest from local and global companies with experience turning around and operating major retailers.
“David Jones’ iconic retailing position in Australia is obtaining traction and attention with these parties,” Hutton said.
“The administration process will allow the new buyer the flexibility to adopt a streamlined and agile operating model to enable the emergence of a more focused and competitive business with renewed customer relevance.”
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