00:01It's a day of great sadness here in Hornsby where David Jones has been part of the heart
00:07of this community for 25 years. David Jones opened as part of a major redevelopment back
00:12in 2001 here and many shoppers both go here but they also make the trek into the CBD of
00:18Sydney where the flagship store has been operating for generations on Elizabeth Street and many
00:23have really fond memories whether it be buying their first suit or their wedding dress and
00:27there's of course downtown in the CBD there's of course also the renowned food hall and the annual
00:34Christmas window displays. Now here in Hornsby this particular shop is perhaps most at risk
00:41given it's being reported that there will be a rationalisation of the stores. Hornsby is one of
00:46the shops that is perhaps most likely to close as part of this process. Some of the shoppers we spoke
00:52with were very upset. I was greatly saddened. I've always loved David Jones. It's an institution.
00:59I used to come here when I was a student to see the Spring Flower Festival and it was always
01:04a joy to shop there and they had the pianist and it was a wonderful experience. The nameplate
01:10down there opened in 1838 I think it was. You know and to lose that is just terrible. It's
01:16fell off the piano man and all those things so they got rid of that experience and they didn't
01:20adapt to online shopping fast enough so it was inevitable really. Didn't keep up with the times.
01:27It's very sad. Now as sad as this news is it's not entirely surprising for many. Many shoppers here
01:35are really being battered by inflation and rising interest rates and really just don't have much money
01:40to spend at the moment. They don't have that sort of discretionary money to part with at a luxury store
01:46like David Jones. So many had been pulling back on their spending or not going into David Jones as
01:52often and they also remarked about the fact that obviously online shopping is growing ever so much
01:58and they feel that David Jones perhaps didn't evolve as much over the years. While they have really great
02:04memories that sort of experiential element of shopping within David Jones perhaps in previous decades
02:10they feel that they were looking for something a little bit more to compete with this very very
02:16difficult retail climate.
