00:02It may have 188 years of history, but time is not on David Jones' side.
00:08The grand old dame of Australian retailing fell into receivership because it can no longer
00:13pay the rent.
00:15And already there's a fight over the carcass.
00:18DJ's owners appointed administrators to run the business, fearing it was close to insolvency,
00:23and to ensure they weren't evicted.
00:25Almost immediately, the store's finances retaliated by appointing receivers because their loans
00:31are secured against the shoes, socks and jocks inside the stores.
00:35The company's ultimate survival depends on both groups working in harmony.
00:40Department stores haven't quite gone the way of the dodo, but they're well on the way.
00:44Once they accounted for almost 15% of Australian retail sales.
00:48Now it's a little over five.
00:50And with huge amounts of expensive, high street floor space, they were hammered by the online
00:56shopping revolution.
00:57And now they're struggling against a cost of living crisis that has stripped households
01:02of spare cash.
01:03A decade ago, DJ's were snapped up for $2.2 billion in a huge takeover battle.
01:10Eight years later, it was sold for $100 million.
01:13Now they're fighting over who owns the cutlery.
01:17the new Model Pub
01:20and the new Model Pub
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