The party is over as David Jones slashes launch budget

THE champagne bottles will remain corked, the limousines cancelled and the guest list slashed by half when David Jones launches its winter collection next month.

Model Miranda Kerr will remain the star of the show, but the fashion parades in Melbourne and Sydney will be much more modest affairs this year as the department store seeks to rein in costs in the economic downturn.

With the company’s decision yesterday to sack 150 employees at its Sydney head office and to cut the hours of floor staff across the country, it was perhaps inevitable that fancy launches would be curbed too.

The cuts to the event include cancelling the after-party for models and celebrities, in a move that will reduce the event’s cost by more than half.

“I felt that it was not prudent for us to be celebrating our fashion launch in that way,” David Jones chief executive Mark McInnes said. “It will still be a spectacular show, but it will be a show and nothing else.”

Mr McInnes insisted the event, which has been shifted from the early evening to the morning, remained an important launching pad for the winter collection.

“We still have to launch our winter season, it’s the business that we’re in. We’re just doing it much more responsibly.

At rival store Myer, this year’s launch for its autumn and winter collection, to be held in Melbourne, will have between 300 and 350 guests compared with 500 last year. The company’s brand ambassador, Jennifer Hawkins, will also appear in fashion parades across the country.

The cuts to staff hours and its launch budget are part of a broad cost-cutting regime at DJs also involving shrinking travel, marketing and IT budgets.

Adding to the case for a further Federal Government stimulus package, Mr McInnes said that after two strong weeks of trading straddling Christmas, sales in recent weeks had been “particularly tough”.

Hardest hit at the department store were sales of big ticket items such as couches and bedding, while sales of cosmetics were holding up. He said the refurbishment of the Bourke Street store would not be affected by the cost cutting.

Source: The Age

Posted by Emily on 21 January 2009 | Filed under News
2 responses to “The party is over as David Jones slashes launch budget”
  1. weronika says:
    January 27, 2009 at 9:55 am

    emily, where are you ?! please come soon :)

  2. Kaew's Beauty and Health says:
    June 25, 2009 at 1:24 am

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