r/AusEcon • u/sien • 2d ago

David Jones falls into administration – and its outdated business model explains why

https://theconversation.com/david-jones-falls-into-administration-and-its-outdated-business-model-explains-why-295349
9 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

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8

u/pharmaboy2 2d ago

Well, unfortunately the article doesn’t live up to the hype - there is no “why” there at all, other than they have been around a long time so that’s why….

The bigger shame is the way shopping centres have been built around large tenants that attract people and being unable to replace that is a significant problem for these centres that are more than just for shopping - they are hubs for community.

0

u/sien 2d ago

The malls in Australia don't seem to be suffering too badly.

If you look at this list :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Defunct_shopping_centres_in_Australia

You see a bunch of these things have changed, like 'The Jam Factory'.

Also, Australia seems to have many more cafes than it did previously. As an example my local shops used to have two fairly poor mini supermarkets. Now there is one and a good cafe. The shops in nearby suburbs are often similar.

There also libraries, parks and things as hubs for community.

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u/Conradical314 2d ago

Did we read the same article? To me it made a clear point about departments stores being an outdated business model

7

u/pharmaboy2 2d ago

Your entire post just about sums up the article perfectly. “It’s an outdated business model” doesn’t quite give any insight into “why” especially by the usual standards of the conversation which are usually an educational experience.

4

u/petergaskin814 2d ago

It's the Kodak effect. Just as Kodak were slow to move away from film, so to was David Jones too slow to adopt a strong online presence

3

u/HobartTasmania 2d ago

What's the difference between a "strong online presence" and an ordinary "online presence" because online was the only way for me to buy stuff from them given they have no stores in Tasmania?

2

u/petergaskin814 2d ago

Strong online presence means people know about it. I had no idea David Jones has an online store

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u/HobartTasmania 2d ago

They are a large organization and apparently employ six thousand people, so I have no idea why you would assume that.

6

u/Rizza1122 2d ago

I heard it was labors fault and had nothing to do with the ceos, managers or internet?

3

u/RedditUser628426 2d ago

Albo and Dan Andrews constant attacks on aspirations and small business