losure of its Wellington store in 2022. But a second storyline has been running alongside it, and it has drawn far less attention. Suppliers have told industry figures they are taking a long view. The brands that know the retailer best have, in several cases, chosen not to walk away. The brand that stayed For Bronte co-founder Georgie Gilbert, who started the brand with Camille Peressini, the connection was personal. “David Jones was our first major retail partner, and an iconic Australian business,” she told Inside Retail. “When we launched Bronte, our ambition was to elevate skincare for the body and celebrate products that were proudly Australian-made. David Jones felt like the natural home for that vision.” Gilbert and Peressini founded Bronte in 2025 after careers at Mecca, and Gilbert said they brought an enormous respect for retail and, more importantly, the experience of shopping in person. The retailer’s beauty floors held a particular significance for the young brand. “There is something truly special about the magic of the David Jones beauty floors,” Gilbert said. “Being ranged alongside brands like The Beauty Chef and Well Co was an exciting milestone for us and a wonderful opportunity to sit within a community of Australian brands that share a passion for innovation and wellbeing.” That community of Australian brands has become one of the administration’s quieter storylines. Bronte continues to be ranged at David Jones, and Gilbert said she sincerely hoped the administrators could review the business structure, identify a way forward and “solve for the ‘why’ in bricks and mortar retail”. Her stance contrasts with brands such as Gucci, Scanlan Theodore, Yves Saint Laurent and Oroton, which removed stock from their concession stores after the collapse. It points to a split among suppliers over what the administration means for their businesses. Suppliers see a future Phoebes Garland, director and co-founder of Garland & Garland Fashion, told Inside Retail the considerable optimism among suppliers had struck her. “While the current circumstances are undeniably challenging, the business retains significant brand equity, and there is potential for a commercially sustainable future,” she said. Garland said the suppliers who stayed understood the retailer needed to address the structural constraints leases imposed on underperforming stores, after negotiations with landlords reached an impasse. “This is not simply a story of a retailer struggling to remain relevant,” she said. Garland said support for chief executive Erica Berchtold’s leadership was unquestioned at the corporate level. Berchtold herself has appealed to suppliers for their continued support, telling staff all 38 stores were open and trading. Customers have responded too. FTI reported a record in-store and online trade since the collapse, prompting the receivers to order extra floor stock for Christmas. Garland said the opportunity lay in letting the business “rebuild the story around the enduring strength of its brand, its customer relationships and its place in Australian retail”. Industry bodies line up But the support is not coming from brands alone. Australian Retail Council CEO Chris Rodwell said David Jones held “a special place in our retail history” and that administration allowed it to reshape its operations. He acknowledged the impact on team members in cities, towns and suburbs, and on the brands, suppliers and local businesses it supported. “At this moment it is critical every Australian back the retailers that back Australia,” Rodwell said. Australian Fashion Council executive chair Marianne Perkovic said the council recognised how hard the uncertainty was for the David Jones team, Australian brands and everyone affected. She said a clear and constructive path forward was essential, one that supported people, helped secure the future of Australian fashion brands and delivered “a great retail experience where consumers can discover and support Australian design”. Garland said the breadth of that response reflected what David Jones had built for Australian fashion. In her view, it shaped the nation’s fashion identity, championed emerging and established designers, and gave local brands an invaluable commercial platform. She pointed to womenswear executive Bridget Veal’s involvement in the relaunch of Australian Fashion Week, saying her commercial skill helped bridge “the often considerable divide between creative ambition and commercial reality”. Solving for the why What unites the supporters is Gilbert’s question about why customers should visit stores at all. She said the answer could lie in brand range, flexible returns, knowledgeable staff or something less tangible, like a champagne or the live pianist at Christmas on Bourke Street. “Retail needs to be more than a transaction; it needs to be an experience,” she said. The question hangs over a business Anchorage Capital Partners bought for about $100 million in 2023, which recorded a $95.5 million loss before tax in the year to June 2025. Receiver Christopher Hill has cited rising costs, an outdated footprint and supply chain challenges. The outpouring of support from brands, suppliers and industry bodies will not resolve those numbers. But as Gilbert put it, “the brands, the people, the stores and the experiences that have shaped it are worth fighting for”.