Witchery

So that's going to be a relief that we only have to pop down the road to Morley.

But, yeah, I mean, Country Road and Witchery for me, but also JB Hi-Fi.

Really excited about that.

It's kind of long overdue that we need these quality retailers in Morley.

DJs are looking at a massive $95 million loss.

And Country Road and Witchery and Mimco are all pulling the pin on 100 David Jones shop fronts as the historic department store battles this $95.5 million loss.

Australian fashion labels have long been a very important part of David Jones' operation.

Now, I don't pretend to know how it works, but I assume these fashion labels pay a form of rent to be under the roof, the umbrella of David Jones.

Department stores face brand exodus and evolving concession models.

The retail landscape is seeing major shifts as Country Road Group plans to remove nearly 100 concessions, including Witchery and Mimco, from David Jones.

This follows similar pullbacks from luxury labels like Dior, Gucci, and Chanel.

The move highlights challenges for traditional department stores, particularly when brands have strong direct-to-consumer channels and their own standalone stores.

But first, I wanted to ask you about a really fascinating story we had this week on some very big names that I think everyone will know.

Country Road, Witchery and Mimco are pulling back from their concessions inside David Jones, the iconic department store chain.

Now it's, well, let's be frank, it's bloody tough out there in retail, Anne, but who's bearing the pain here? Is it David Jones or is it Woolworths Holdings of South Africa, which is the company that owns Country Road and those other brands I mentioned?

It's a bit of both, James.

And I wouldn't be surprised if we see the Country Road Group sold by Woolworths because Woolworths got a new CEO in June.

This is South African Woolworths got a new CEO in June who's made it clear that they're going to pivot towards food being at the forefront of their business and clothing being a secondary.

So, at some point, I wouldn't be surprised if we see the Country Road brand, Witchery, Mimco, et cetera, up for sale.

Yeah.

Some of Australia's biggest fashion brands are scaling back their presence inside DJs.

And we're talking about big names like Country Road, Witchery, Mimco.

They're among the brands pulling dozens of shops from David Jones stores.

The Country Road Group currently operates 283 of these spaces across the network, but close to 100 are set to vanish from February.