Dozens of David Jones stores across Australia are set to be closed, including five locations in Westfield shopping centres, as the retailer reviews its national footprint.
It is understood the retail giant, which operates 38 stores across Australia and New Zealand, is seeking to reduce its numbers to between 12 and 20.
The auditor, PwC, had yet to sign off on accounts, which were required to be lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) by October 30, according to The Australian Financial Review.
The retailer is also reviewing five reportedly loss-making stores at Westfield shopping centres in Carousel, Perth; Parramatta and Hornsby in Sydney; Woden in Canberra; and Southland in Melbourne.
The Daily Mail has contacted David Jones for comment.
David Jones last week confirmed that a review of its Australian store portfolio and trading terms with suppliers and brand partners was underway.
A spokesperson declined to comment on 'speculation in the media' but said chief executive Erica Berchtold's priority was to accelerate its strategy.
It has sparked grim warnings from a retail expert.
'The inevitability is we will not be seeing David Jones around in the very near future,' Marketing Focus managing director Barry Urquhart told the Daily Mail.
He argued that the decline in the giant's reported sale value reflected the extent of its problems, adding that the retailer had 'been in trouble for some time'.
South Africa's Woolworths Holdings bought David Jones for about $2.1billion in 2014 before completing the reported $100million sale of its operating business to Anchorage Capital Partners in 2023.
Mr Urquhart also identified the Covid pandemic as a major turning point, with widespread closures placing significant pressure on retailers.
'With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020, a lot of communities, towns, businesses closed down and therefore that had a huge impact on cash flows, debt levels,' he said.
More to come.
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