{
  "id": 19695918,
  "title": "Financial pain of outer suburbs fuelled demise of David Jones, experts say",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/financial-pain-of-outer-suburbs-fuelled-demise-of-david-jones-experts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-12T19:33:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-13/nsw-david-jones-sydney-store-closure-suburban-economic-strain/107380310"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "David Jones, a prominent Australian retailer, announced on Wednesday that it will be closing 19 stores across Australia and New Zealand, with the majority of closures occurring in metropolitan outer suburbs. According to property analyst Howard Penny, outer suburban areas have been disproportionately impacted by mortgage stress. Retail expert Gary Mortimer suggested that a changing business model is forcing major suburban centres to adapt in order to survive. The decline of David Jones may be exacerbated by the severe economic hardships faced in outer suburbs following five interest rate hikes this year. Among the affected stores are locations in Sydney, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast. Howard Penny, head of Real Estate and Infrastructure Research at Citigroup, emphasized that the financial strain in these areas disproportionately affects consumers with mortgages. S&P Global Ratings data indicated that households in some outer suburbs in Sydney, Melbourne, and southeast Queensland are more than twice as likely to experience mortgage stress compared to the national average. The closures of David Jones stores, particularly in Westfield shopping centers, may have short-term effects on Scentre Group, but long-term, they are optimistic about the viability of these shopping centers. Retail professor Gary Mortimer noted that major suburban centers are evolving, focusing on precincts like health, services, libraries, gyms, and childcare, rather than traditional anchor tenants like department stores. He believes that the changing demographics and socio-economic pressures in outer suburban areas necessitate adaptation for shopping centers to thrive.",
  "summary": "After 188 years, David Jones announced it would close 19 stores, most of them in Sydney's outer suburbs.",
  "key_points": [
    "David Jones to close 19 stores in Australia and New Zealand",
    "Outer suburban areas disproportionately impacted by mortgage stress",
    "Changing business model forces suburban centers to adapt"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}