David Jones' Robina store among 19 to close

Administrators for embattled department store chain David Jones have confirmed 19 stores will be closed, with the company’s Robina store among those to be shut.

The closures will also lead to the loss of thousands of jobs, with staff and suppliers briefed on the situation on Wednesday.

The company says the action is necessary to give David Jones the best chance at survival, with the closures accounting for half of its stores.

“The business could not continue operating as it was. We had a plan to reset the business, and we still have a plan to reset the business,” David Jones chief executive Erica Berchtold said in an email.

“Put simply, our store portfolio is no longer the right shape for the business, and this change is about creating a network that is financially sustainable for the future.”

David Jones has been a feature of Robina Town Centre since 1996, shortly after the shopping centre opened.

It was the company’s first Gold Coast store, with its second store at Pacific Fair spared from the axe.

While no date has been set for the closures, the impacted stores are expected to finish trading by the end of the year.

Gift cards can still be redeemed, however new ones are no longer being sold.

News of the closures comes ahead of a creditors’ meeting next Thursday, where dozens of suppliers will begin attempts to recoup money after going unpaid for months.

David Jones stores to close:

Queensland
• Robina Town Centre (Gold Coast)
• Sunshine Plaza (Maroochydore)

New South Wales
• Macarthur Square (Campbelltown)
• Macquarie Centre (North Ryde)
• Stockland Green Hills (East Maitland)
• Westfield Hornsby (Hornsby)
• Westfield Parramatta (Parramatta)
• Warringah Mall (Brookvale)
• Wollongong Central (Wollongong)