David Jones stores in five states will be closed by the end of the year in the latest move to save the struggling retailer .
Receivers FTI Consulting announced on Wednesday that 19 stores, mostly in suburban areas, will continue trading only until the end of December.
Flagship stores in capital city central business districts have largely survived, but the Hay Street Mall store in central Perth will be closed, the receivers said.
"The receivers have made the difficult decision to proceed with an urgent restructure of the business, in line with management's plan for the future of David Jones," FTI said in a statement.
Staff at the 19 stores are being consulted about the changes and no final date for the closures has been set, the receivers added.
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David Jones' only New Zealand-based store, at Newmarket in Auckland, will also be shuttered in the restructure.
The 19 stores set to close their doors are:
The 188-year-old retailer has been plagued with years of losses that left it unable to pay rent and ongoing issues with its day-to-day business.
But a member of the family that set up the department store chain says there's still room for the personal touch and carefully crafted in-store experiences.
Charles Edward Lloyd Jones was a fifth-generation member of the founding family to work in the business, and the last.
He left in 1993 after finishing up as store manager at David Jones Chatswood on Sydney's lower north shore, and similar stints at stores at Bankstown in the west and Bondi Junction in the east.
"If you don't have a unique offer, then it's a race to the bottom with price," the 68-year-old told the Australian Associated Press.
"And then if it's a race to the bottom with price, people start cutting staff and when they start cutting staff the service diminishes."
Asked if he had ever circled a David Jones store looking for someone to ring up his purchase, Lloyd Jones said: "Too many times."
Expressions of interest to buy the business must be filed by close of business on Friday.
