David Jones is set to close shop in Mt Gravatt after SCentre Group, which owns Westfield Garden City, lodged a development application to restructure its retail tenancy.
Under DA A006144550, lodged on the 8th of November 2022, the Scentre Group proposes to demolish and reconfigure two levels of David Jones and turn these sections into seven “mini-major tenancies” and four specialty stores.
The restructure will also entail the removal of the travelators on levels 1 and 2 whilst the facade by the mall entrance will be refurbished and refreshed with a terraced area to take advantage of the natural light.
The parking area will also be reconfigured “to accommodate a new plant room and a connection to a fire corridor egress.”
The plans come years after the operators of the popular department store said they need to restructure and keep pace with its online shopping competition. During the pandemic, David Jones also decided to close its Toowong outlet after 36 years. It shifted its Fortitude Valley site to a smaller store as well.
Despite this, David Jones apparently continues to enjoy strong sales growth post lockdowns, per Woolworths Holdings, which bought the brand in 2014. Shoppers have slowly returned to the stores when the restrictions were eased off.
Woolworths Holdings, however, is said to be reassessing David Jones’ future after paying off the retailer’s debts and turning the company into a self-funding business.