In Australia, the Country Road Group is taking its brands out of 100 of the 283 spaces it runs inside David Jones, the country’s best-known department store. That is more than a third of its places on the David Jones shop floor.
Who are Country Road Group?
Country Road Group owns several well-known Australian fashion brands, including Country Road, Witchery, Trenery and the menswear label Politix. For many years, a visit to David Jones has meant walking past their concessions, small shops-within-a-shop that the brand runs and staffs itself.
And David Jones?
David Jones has been trading since 1838 and is one of the most famous department stores in the southern hemisphere. Its big city stores in Sydney and Melbourne are landmarks in their own right.
Why is this happening?
Concession deals are a partnership: the brand brings its clothes and staff, and the store brings shoppers. When the two sides want different things, or the numbers no longer add up, brands can decide to pull back. Many fashion groups now prefer to put money into their own standalone stores and websites, where they control the whole experience and keep more of the profit.
A familiar pattern
The story will sound familiar to anyone following British retail. Department stores everywhere are working out what they are for, while fashion brands are deciding whether they still need them. For shoppers, the result is fewer places to find lots of brands under one roof, and more single-brand shops.
It also makes the personal touch more valuable than ever. Shoppers notice when someone takes the time to understand what they need, and that is the part of the experience that no change of floor plan can replace.
