David Jones Limited

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David Jones Limited
Type Public (ASX: DJS)
Founded Sydney, Australia 1838
Founder David Jones
Headquarters Sydney, Australia
Area served Australia
Industry Retail
Products Cosmetics, fashion, homewares, furniture, electrical, food
Revenue $1.98 billion AUD (2007)
Website www.davidjones.com.au

David Jones Limited (ASX:DJS), colloquially known as DJ's, is an Australian retailing company. Its primary business is an Australia-wide chain of premium department stores.

David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, is believed to be the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name. It currently has 37 stores located in most Australian states and territories.

A traditional department store, it retails fashion, cosmetics, homewares, electronics as well as other products. David Jones' main rival in the Australian retail scene is Myer.

Contents

[edit] History

David Jones was a Welsh merchant who met Hobart businessman Charles Appleton in London. Appleton had established a store in Sydney in 1825 and Jones subsequently established a partnership with Appleton, moved to Australia in 1835, and the Sydney store became known as Appleton & Jones. When the partnership was dissolved in 1838, Jones moved moved his business to premises on the corner of George Street and Barrack Lane, Sydney. Jones survived the depression of the 1840s, and by 1856 had retired from active management of the business. A few years later when the firm failed he returned to manage its affairs and in a few years had fully discharged all obligations to his creditors.[1] By 1887 the George Street store had been rebuilt and a mail order facility introduced. A factory was opened in Marlborough Street, Sydney to reduce reliance on imported goods.

In 1906, David Jones announced it would become a public company.[2] The Elizabeth Street was opened in 1927 under the guidance of chairman Charles Lloyd Jones. A further store was opened in Market Street, Sydney in 1938. In 1954 a State banquet was held for visiting Queen Elizabeth II in the restaurant of the Elizabeth Street store.

By 1959, the store network expanded to eight stores, and by 1980 David Jones had moved into Queensland, ACT, Victoria and South Australia.[3]

In 1980, Adelaide Steamship Company Limited acquired a substantial interest in David Jones. In 1982, a David Jones store opened in Melbourne for the first time, having acquired and rebranded department store Buckley & Nunn. In 1985, David Jones acquired the Adelaide department store John Martins.

By 1990, poor performance and the collapse of Adelaide Steamship Company forced David Jones to restructure its debt. In 1995, David Jones announced a $800 million public float of the David Jones and John Martin retail operations. David Jones Limited was subsequently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.[4]

[edit] Business longevity

David Jones' flagship building on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Market Street, Sydney
David Jones' flagship building on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Market Street, Sydney

Changes in management and the uneasy transition to a listed company saw DJs falter in the late 1990s. A major strategic review in 2003 saw the closing of its two unprofitable stores, the loss-making David Jones Online web-based business and its gourmet food retail stores, Foodchain. It revitalised many of its stores, including its flagship Elizabeth Street and Market Street stores (two individual buildings, linked by an underground arcade). Since then its profitability - and profile - has improved, thanks to a combination of a consumer spending boom in 2003-2004,[citation needed] and the securing of exclusive deals with many high-profile Australian and international brands (often marketed as 'Available at no other department store' - a veiled reference to its rival[neutrality disputed], Myer).

David Jones is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). In recent times, a slowdown in the upscale department store market hurt both David Jones and its chief competitor, Myer (formerly owned by the Coles Group). Its change from private to public ownership in 1995 resulted in structural and cultural changes, which saw periods of stagnancy and high staff turnover. Shares initially offered at A$2 fell as low as A$0.90, but have since reached highs of over A$4.590. DJs is also notable for being one of the few remaining companies in Australia which offers discounts to its shareholders.[citation needed]

It has weathered and grown strong from the massive shift in Australian retailing away from department stores towards specialist retailers and suburban shopping malls. In contrast, Myer — once the most popular department store in Australia — had faltered, to the point that its former parent company (Coles Group) sold the department store. This leaves David Jones the only remaining Australian owned department store.

[edit] Branding

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Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Elizabeth Street entrance in Sydney
Elizabeth Street entrance in Sydney

David Jones is known famously by its branding - a black-on-white houndstooth pattern which is now synonymous with the DJs brand and one of the most recognised corporate identities in Australia. David Jones is considered Australia's most upscale and exclusive department store. Most clients are of socio-economic A & B group. The origin of this motif owes itself to the insistence of its founder on not using the store's name on its packaging. His aim was that the store would be so well known that everyone should recognise it simply by this now-famous motif.

David Jones has recently used celebrities for publicity purposes including Liz Hurley (makeup launch), Kim Cattrall (book launch) and Megan Gale for their own advertising.

David Jones and John Lewis of the UK have similar reputations for service and quality. Both are positioned to provide products and services for the mid - upper income demographic. Further their pricing policies of matching competitors prices, their use of the word 'Clearance' to describe their twice a year sales and their logos are all very similar. David Jones has a comparable premium fashion focus to U.S. chain Neiman Marcus and the UK group Selfridges.

Level 7 in the Sydney Elizabeth Street store offers 'Pret a Porter' fashions from international collections including Jil Sander, DKNY, Missoni, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

David Jones is famous for its Food Hall, which to many Australians is an institution, particular for those English expatriates seeking traditional English brands. The Food Hall concept is unique in Australian retailing and offers a variety of the best of Australian and international food brands. It is based on the concept of the famous fresh food retailing departments in UK department stores Harrods and Marks & Spencer. The failed Foodchain experiment - effectively a standalone Food Hall - was sold to the parent company of Freedom Furniture in 2003 after it proved unprofitable. When it closed there were stores at Kew, Hawthorn, St Kilda and Brighton in Melbourne, with a Port Melbourne and Williamstown store due to open just before it was sold, and there were two stores in Sydney, one in Parramatta, the other in Manly.

[edit] Stores

David Jones Melbourne
David Jones Melbourne

David Jones has department stores in all Australian capital cities except Hobart and Darwin, two stores in Newcastle, and stores in Tuggerah (opened 1995), Wollongong and Robina (Gold Coast). Within NSW, David Jones established its first store in Newcastle by acquiring Scott's department store on Hunter Street in 1958.[5] It expanded interstate by acquiring Buckley & Nunn (Melbourne) in 1982, John Martins (Adelaide) in 1985 and Aherns (Perth) in 1989. David Jones also owned the former 'Georges' store in Collins Street, Melbourne between 1981 and 1995.

All stores are located in major retail precincts and shopping malls. In 2007, David Jones recast its criteria for store locations, reflecting CEO Mark McInnes' intention to concentrate on "low risk, high value locations" [6]

As a result, stores at Centro Bankstown (closed July 2007) and Westfield Eastgardens (October 2007) were replaced by Myer. However, David Jones replaced the Myer store in Westfield Burwood in May 2007 and opened a new store at Westfield Chermside in August 2007 and a new store at QueensPlaza in February 2008.

In January 2008, David Jones announced that the Claremont store (Western Australia) would be closed in 2009 to allow for a complete rebuilding to reopen in 2011 that will increase its size by 60%. [7]

David Jones has formally announced five other new stores:

[10]

[edit] Store Locations

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

South Australia

Victoria

Western Australia

[edit] Flagship Store

David Jones flagship store:

  • Sydney(1) - The Elizabeth Street and Market Street stores in the CBD are linked together by a two-storey high walkway, and an underground shopping mall. The stores offer the largest range of products by any department store in Australasia.[citation needed]

[edit] Credit and store cards

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, David Jones derives about 30 per cent of its annual earnings from its store cards. In February 2008, it announced it would be launching a David Jones American Express card before Christmas 2008 and would transfer its $400 million store card receivables (representing 400,000 cardholders) to American Express. [11] It is also considering additional financial services such as insurance and home loans under its brand. [12]

[edit] Gallery

David Jones at Woden Town Centre in Canberra

David Jones - top floor at QueensPlaza in Brisbane (Queen Street Mall end)

David Jones - top floor at QueensPlaza in Brisbane (Adelaide Street end)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jones, David (1793-1873) Biographical Entry. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  2. ^ David Jones Limited (1906 - ). Guide to Australian Business Records. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
  3. ^ Story of David Jones. David Jones. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
  4. ^ David Jones Limited (1906 - ). Guide to Australian Business Records. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
  5. ^ http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/17507/heritagewalkfurtherinfo.pdf
  6. ^ Retail blues
  7. ^ http://davidjones.com.au/images/corp/pdf/ASX_Release_Claremont_Redevelopment_30Jan08.pdf
  8. ^ 12 December 2001
  9. ^ http://davidjones.com.au/images/corp/pdf/ASX_Release_Claremont_Redevelopment_30Jan08.pdf
  10. ^ Retail blues
  11. ^ Amex is branded card partner for DJs. Sydney Morning Herald (19 February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  12. ^ Retailers take on the banks…again, Australian Financial Review, 30 January 2008, pp. 1, 61 

[edit] External links

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