David Jones failed to submit its latest financial year reports to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) by the due date, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The retailer is owned by private equity company Anchorage Capital Partners and currently operates 38 stores nationwide.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Media speculation continues that it will shut several locations in Westfield centres.
Hilco Capital, its key lender, has injected extra cash so the retailer can build up inventory ahead of the festive period.
Hilco declined to confirm the sum, which the ABC understands to be A$10m.
An Anchorage spokesperson declined to comment on speculation to the ABC, but said David Jones was assessing its store network and holding talks with stakeholders to put itself “on a viable financial footing”.
“Hilco remains supportive of the business, and any inference otherwise is false,” Hilco was quoted as saying.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), a union for retail workers, is contacting David Jones staff to outline their rights should the retailer fail.
According to ABC, at least one major fashion label has removed some stock from David Jones over concerns about the retailer’s ability to settle its invoices, and that suppliers were moved onto longer payment terms this year to allow more time to pay for stock.
David Jones began in 1838 as a corner shop in Australia and now runs multi-storey department stores selling goods from cosmetics to footwear and fashion.
Its main competitor is ASX-listed Myer, which voted early last year to merge with a number of Australian businessman Solomon Lew’s clothing labels, which include Dotti, Jacqui E, Jay Jays, Just Jeans, and Portmans.
The merger was presented as a way of keeping Myer relevant as the retail landscape changes and younger consumers increasingly buy online or turn to second-hand apps such as Depop.
