Advertisement

Retail downturn forces David Jones writedown

David Jones’s South African owner Woolworths will take a $713 million writedown on the value of the department store chain as Australia’s tough retail market bites harder into the business.

Jan 25, 2018, updated Jan 25, 2018

Woolworths has told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that it will take a $712.5 million non-cash impairment on the carrying value of David Jones in recognition of “the cyclical downturn and structural changes that have impacted performance across the Australian retail sector”.

“The impact of these changes has been exacerbated by poor or delayed execution in certain key initiatives,” Woolworths said in a statement.

However, the South African group, which also owns Country Road in Australia, said it is committed improving David Jones and will continue to invest in the business.

InDaily in your inbox. The best local news every workday at lunch time.
By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement andPrivacy Policy & Cookie Statement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Woolworths earlier this month announced David Jones’s sales for the six months to December 24 were down 3.3 per cent, on a same-stores basis, on the preceding half year.

The company cut David Jones’s retail floorspace by 2.2 per cent during the 2017/18 first half as part of an ongoing “space optimisation” program and in 2016 sold the retailer’s Market St, Sydney, building to Scentre Group.

– AAP

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.