00:03It was business as usual at DJ's, but a dark cloud is hanging over the retailer's future.
00:10It's a damn shame.
00:12I remember going to the store when I was a young boy and it was the place to go.
00:17After 188 years in business, the retailer has tipped into administration, with staff briefed about the company's woes.
00:25People are distressed. This is a very stressful, uncertain time.
00:30The company's problems boiled over this week when leading landlord Westfield went public about DJ's defaulting on rent.
00:38Administrators now say that the company is battling rising costs, an outdated retail footprint and supply chain challenges.
00:46There's no doubt the retail models, the department store models, they've been under pressure.
00:51Stores are staying trading, but retail experts are forecasting 22 store closures nationally.
00:58Among them are Westfield locations in Sydney's western suburbs, South Australia, WA and regional Victoria.
01:06Staff are also facing the prospect of layoffs in the lead up to Christmas.
01:11There are about 6,000 people that are directly affected.
01:13There's talk of restructuring and making a smaller David Jones.
01:17There are hundreds of brands that are stocked inside David Jones and many of them will now be anxious to
01:23recoup their stock or their unpaid bills.
01:26Meanwhile, David Jones' main lender has also appointed a receiver to secure its investment.
01:32With such anxiety over the situation, even customers are racing to use up gift cards.
01:38If David Jones completely closes, we'll be at the bottom of the line of people who are trying to get
01:44their money back.
01:45If you've got something on lay-by, see if you can actually pay it up front and get your product.
01:51The company's collapse is a far cry from its heyday in the 1960s, boom years that 94-year-old Gwen
01:58Sutton is very familiar with.
02:00Her first job was at DJ's after the Second World War.
02:04A French perfumery counter. You'd leave the store smelling absolutely gorgeous because it was in the air all the time.
02:10I buy all my clothes at David Jones. I don't go anywhere else. I don't know what I'm going to
02:14do.
02:15Things are going online more and more.
02:16People are buying. It's just moving to a different channel, I suppose.
02:20A first creditors meeting is set for next week.
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