The new David Jones boss needs a turnaround miracle

June 22, 2026 — 2:58pm

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David Jones really did bury the lead with Monday’s blockbuster announcement. The crucial news isn’t the sudden and immediate replacement of its chief executive Scott Fyfe. The real news is that the department store chain lives to fight another day.

Buried in this statement is the revelation that the lender that financed David Jones’ precarious cash-squeezed operations has been replaced with a different vulture fund that is willing to give it an extra cash lifeline.

For almost six months, David Jones has been engaged in a juggling act with suppliers, asking various of these creditors to stretch payment terms. In a seemingly fluid attempt to manage the company’s own cash flow dilemma, some suppliers were part-paid, but others were paid months late.

It is really difficult to decide whether to read either piece of news (new financier and new chief executive) as a glass-half-empty or half-full........

© The Age