Designers ditch David Jones: Is Myer winning the department store war?

Myer is scooping up a growing number of Australian luxury and designer brands that are choosing to break their exclusive relationships with David Jones as the long-time retail rivals fight to stay relevant among Millennials and Gen Z shoppers.

Australian designer labels Effie Kats, South Australian founded Acler, Significant Other and Aston Studios have left their contracts with David Jones to sign exclusively with Myer, while iconic luxury boot maker R.M. Williams ended its relationship with David Jones nine months ago, this masthead has confirmed.

By the end of the month, Myer will stock a total of 25 new womenswear brands that include heritage brand Oroton, Ena Pelly, elevated essentials brand Bayse, Morrison, RAEF the Label, Arcaa, Nude Lucy, UK brand Aligne, and LA activewear brand Varley.

Since joining the company in mid-2024, Myer chief executive Olivia Wirth has made no secret of her efforts to make the 126-year-old retailer appealing to younger shoppers, and is focusing on expanding its range of casual clothing, gowns, and elevated and contemporary brands.

“It became very obvious there was an opportunity for us to have a more elevated offering and to make sure that we had relevance for that under-40 customer,” Wirth told this masthead. “It is a transformation, it will take time, but we’ve been really dedicated and have a clear focus on building a womenswear offering that has breadth of range and is of great value.”

For women’s luxury fashion label Acler, the partnership is a retail homecoming: Myer was Acler’s first department store partner before it switched over to David Jones in 2019.

“As [Myer] have re-energised their focus on Australian fashion, it feels like the right moment to return,” said Acler co-founders Kathryn Forth and Julia Ritorto, who also founded Significant Other in 2019.

“We made this choice because we see a clear path to building real momentum over the next five years. We’re fully invested in Myer’s vision for the future of premium fashion retail in Australia, and genuinely excited to be part of it.”

Retail consultant Trent Rigby said Myer’s focus on up-and-coming labels signalled an appetite to reach a younger consumer, which designers had noticed. “They’re picking sides,” Rigby said.

“David Jones has always pushed for that luxury high-end consumer, whereas Myer is more middle-of-the-road … [but] I’m not sure what David Jones are doing to get that younger customer,” he said.

“You can argue they’re both not doing a great job, but Myer shows more green shoots.”

Myer’s new ensemble of womenswear brands follows exclusive partnerships with US brand Gap and British brand Topshop, as well as exclusive rights to Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, and MAC Cosmetics. Myer has also lured Luxe Skincare, La Mer and Gilan Beauty over from David Jones as it undergoes a multimillion-dollar renovation of its flagship Sydney beauty department.

“Fashion and beauty need to be seen as going hand-in-hand,” said Wirth, who added that beauty brands were an “absolutely critical driver for choice” for both male and female customers.

“We want to win her, we want to win him, and therefore how you think about fashion and beauty is really important to attracting that customer to Myer.”

The success of Myer’s beauty department revamp will be critical after its 17-year partnership with beauty giant Mecca came to an end at the beginning of this year.

Wirth, who was the head of Qantas Loyalty before joining the retail giant, was eager to attribute customers’ shopping habits and preference for Myer to loyalty program Myer One, which she said has over 11 million customers and “should not be underestimated”. Myer One has been expanded to include Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Dotti, Portmans, Jacqui E – acquired last year for $950 million – as well as JD Sports.

“It’s a highly engaged base, and we know through the data that it really does drive customers to choose Myer over others,” Wirth said. “We know our customer, we have an engaged customer, and therefore we can bring those customers to these brands in a way that they won’t have seen before.”

David Jones, which late last year relaunched its loyalty program, a tie-up with Qantas, declined to comment on incoming brands. A spokesperson pointed to a “constantly evolving” brand portfolio that welcomes “new and iconic brands” regularly.

Rigby said David Jones suffered from its decision to spruik the loyalty program on its storefronts during Christmas last year, while Myer drew customers in with its “winter wonderland” partnership with Lego. “David Jones really dropped the ball with Christmas last year and Myer completely blitzed it,” he said.

In July, David Jones introduced NikeSKIMS (a partnership between Nike and Kim Kardashian’s activewear brand SKIMS) to stores and unveiled a new sunglasses gallery in its flagship Sydney store bringing together 40 brands including Chanel, Prada, Ray Ban and more.

“As customer preferences evolve, so too does our assortment, ensuring we continue to offer a relevant and inspiring brand mix,” the spokesperson said.

The 188-year-old department store recently made suppliers nervous after extending payment terms, meaning David Jones has eight weeks to pay back suppliers after goods have been sold.

Data obtained from CreditorWatch in March showed David Jones’ payments to suppliers were 16 days overdue on average compared with seven days for the entire sector, though the company had no payment defaults, according to the credit agency’s data.

On paper, both department stores are losing money: Myer reported $3.7 billion in sales and $211 million in losses for the 2025 financial year, while David Jones turned over just over $2 billion in the same period and notched losses of $95.5 million.

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