Scentre Group CEO Elliott Rusanow has told Inside Retail that he sees David Jones’ planned store closures as an opportunity to pursue a new growth strategy, marking a shift for the Westfield malls owner.

David Jones’ receivers announced yesterday that they plan to close 19 of the retailer’s 39 stores. Nine of these locations are in Westfield locations, with Scentre Group previously being David Jones’ largest landlord.

David Jones occupies 200,000sqm of floor space in Westfield shopping centres. The nine David Jones Westfield locations to close are at Westfield Carousel, Garden City, Booragoon, Hornsby, Marion, Newmarket (New Zealand), Parramatta, Warringah Mall, West Lakes, and Woden.

Scentre told investors on November 4 that David Jones had sought a more favourable rental agreement for its Westfield sites. It said gross rent from David Jones stores in calendar year 2026 was $45 million, representing $352 per square metre compared to the Westfield average gross rent for all stores of $942 per square metre.

At the same time, investors heard that customer visitation levels at Westfield centres had risen by 17 million to 554 million in the preceding 12 months.

“Our business is practically full, with occupancy at 99.8 per cent and strong demand for space,” Scentre CEO Elliott Rusanow said in response to David Jones’ mass store closures.

“We have a unique opportunity at 17 Westfield destinations to introduce and grow local and international brands and experiences that our customers want. We will continue to pursue this strategy.”

Receivers FTI Consulting did not give a final date for each store closure, but said that they expect them to cease trading by the end of the year.

Source link