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· Posted on
February 21, 2024

David Jones is bouncing back, but it still might be bounced out of Woolies' portfolio

David Jones hasn’t been an amazing investment for Woolies so far... but now it's fattening up.

What's the key learning?

  • David Jones's operating profits have plunged by more than 50% in the last four years but now it's sales and profits are up
  • Rumours that DJ's could be sold have flared up again
  • Not all acquirers are 100% motivated by money

👉 Background: David Jones is the boujee department store that’s been around since 1831. It was acquired for $2.1 billion by Woolworths of South Africa (*checks notes*) - not the Fresh Food People..

👉 What happened: David Jones hasn’t been an amazing investment for Woolies so far. Its operating profits have plunged by more than 50% in the last four years. But now there’s finally some good news for this crew...

👉 What else: Despite the cost of living squeeze, sales and profits are both up in the past few months. But rumours that DJ's could be sold have flared up again with a vengeance - including that Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest is in the mix.

What's the key learning?

💡Not all acquirers are 100% motivated by money. Some may look at other things, like the company’s social impact. Or they might just be really patriotic.

💡Twiggy’s investment company Tattarang has ramped up its investments in a range of Aussie companies recently. It now holds a 10% stake in Bega Cheese and 19.9% of Sukin parent company BWX.

💡But investing patriotically doesn't rule out financial returns... Since Tattarang acquired RM Williams in late 2020, the brand has continued to boom. So it’ll be interesting to see what Twiggy can do with David Jones if he actually takes it over.

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