BRISBANE: David Jones has cut short a lease on its Toombul store to focus on more profitable operations in nearby in Chermside.
The Toombul lease agreement with Centro Limited expires in October 2012, however David Jones will exit the centre in early February 2011.
The company reported it will focus on the Chermside store in a Westfield centre, located five kilometres from Toombul.
It reported it would provide continued employment to all of the current Toombul David Jones staff.
David Jones chief executive officer Paul Zahra said the decision was based on the company's strategy to focus on high value, high growth stores.
“The profits that would have been generated from our Toombul store will be captured as we transfer David Jones customers to our Chermside store, which is only five kilometres away," he said.
He said the Chernside store generates more than double the sales of the Toombul store and has the scope to grow further.
The company reported that in 2006 it identified Chermside as a high value, high growth centre in Brisbane's northern suburbs that would be a suitable area for David Jones. The Chermside store opened in August 2007.
The existing David Jones space in the Toombul Centre will be taken over by discount department store Target.