Country Road Group is shrinking its presence across David Jones stores by almost a third, with the process set to start in early 2027.
A spokesperson for the group confirmed this with Ragtrader following reports from the Australian Financial Review, with all five brands affected – Country Road, Mimco, Trenery, Politix and Witchery.
"In early 2027, we intend to make some adjustments to our trading space within selected David Jones stores as we continue to invest in the locations, channels and formats that best serve our customers,” the spokesperson said.
“David Jones remains a valued retail partner and Country Road Group will continue to have a presence in David Jones stores across Australia, with the mix of brands and amount of trading space varying by location.
“A number of the changes relate to locations where our brands already have a strong presence across our broader retail network.”
As part of the reduction, nearly 100 concession pads managed by Country Road Group will be closed out of just over 280. David Jones has around 40 stores altogether, with some of the group’s brands running multiple pads across different categories such as menswear and womenswear in the same department store.
All five brands will also exit the sole David Jones New Zealand store in Newmarket. Mimco is reportedly the most affected by these cuts.
The spokesperson added that Country Road Group will communicate directly with customers about any changes affecting their preferred brand and, “in many cases, will be able to direct them to a nearby Country Road Group store within the same centre.”
All this comes as David Jones fields shrinking or exits by other brands amid reports of supplier payments being delayed. Media reports have indicated that Dior stopped selling shoes and handbags through David Jones, while Chanel pulled its shoes out of the national retailer.
Country Road Group operates over 600 store locations, including around 529 in Australasia, and the rest in South Africa. Woolworths Holdings Limited in South Africa owns CRG. That company also used to own David Jones up until late 2022, when it sold the department store to Anchorage Capital Partners in Australia.
For FY26, Country Road Group reported a net loss after tax (NPAT) of R250 million, or around $21 million AUD, which is a stark improvement on the R1.43 billion loss in FY25.
The Group’s bottom line improved amid soft total sales growth of just 1 per cent for the financial year to June 28, 2026, in local currency. This was offset by a 0.5 per cent fall in the second half, with these numbers affected by foreign exchange rates.