David Jones suppliers asked to keep supplying despite unpaid debts

Documents sent to suppliers by the receivers' firm, FTI Consulting, say David Jones is "continuing to trade in the ordinary course under the control of the receivers" while administrators push for "the recapitalisation and/or sale" of the business. Any "outstanding debts owed by David Jones" when the administration began on November 5 are "subject to the outcome of the administration process", the documents say.

Suppliers who want to keep the relationship can create fresh accounts with the receiver, and FTI states that "all properly incurred post-appointment trading invoices will be paid by the receivers in accordance with existing trading terms".

Receivers were appointed on behalf of its biggest lender, Hilco, to protect an investment estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some suppliers are unsure whether to continue supplying David Jones. Jacob Leung, who runs Slowdown Studio with his wife, Sarah Jane, supplies handwoven blankets to David Jones and the business is owed $75,000, with its latest invoice overdue. “We'd never received an order that size. We loved the brand, the heritage, the whole David Jones experience. We were so pumped,” he said. “It has massive implications not just for us but our manufacturers, our staff, the invoices we need to pay,” he said.

Jessica Bryce, co-founder of start-up label Beysis, said the company was owed a six-figure sum for a delivery earlier this year and likely could not justify the risk of continuing to sell to David Jones through the administration. “I don't think that we would. Not at this stage. We're owed money and the stock. As a small business we just wouldn't take that risk,” she said. Bryce said Beysis had heard industry reports that big brands were being put on payment plans by David Jones, while Beysis was getting paid erratically. She said it affected how many casuals the business could put on, its marketing spend and inventory.

Luxury brands Gucci, Valentino and Saint Laurent have pulled stock from David Jones stores, leaving shelves bare.

David Jones was bought by private equity firm Anchorage three years ago for $100 million. Documents from ASIC show that under Anchorage, the business recorded losses of $74 million in 2023-24 and $62 million in 2024-25, and the company did not lodge its latest financials with ASIC on time last week. Monash University insolvency expert Tamara Wilkinson said Anchorage “had a very clear plan on how to turn David Jones around and make it profitable, and clearly that doesn't seem to have panned out”.

Dr Wilkinson warned that even a sale might not recover what was owed to creditors, including the retailer's 6,000 employees or suppliers. If money could be clawed back, secured creditors, in this case, Hilco, would stand first in line, followed by employees for wages and super owed, then suppliers or gift card holders, she explained. Dr Wilkinson said small businesses were at “the very bottom” of the pecking order. “The only people worse off than them are the shareholders of the company,” she said. She said she thought someone would buy it, adding: “It is a beloved Australian business. My money is, David Jones as a brand will survive.”

Administrators McGrath Nicol said suppliers and other creditors owed cash would get more information soon, with an initial circular due on Tuesday November 10 and the first meeting of creditors at 11am on Tuesday November 17.

Mr Leung, who has never been through an administration, does not know what to expect as an unsecured creditor. "It seems like we'll be lucky if we get a couple of cents to the dollar from them eventually. But that 'eventually' could be months or a year away, who knows," he said. "It's really stressful. We really don't know how it's going to look, given the economy at the moment. We are quite frankly really nervous."