Background: David Jones is Australia's oldest department store. It's been around for 188 years. South African Woolworths bought it in 2014 for $2.1 billion, but more than a decade of decline saw it sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital for just over $100 million. That's a 94% decline in value.

What happened: Anchorage hoped it could finally give David Jones the luxury glow-up it desperately needed. But instead, Dior and Gucci have both walked away from their supplier deals with David Jones in the handbag and shoes category.

What else: David Jones asked suppliers to accept a 20-week repayment plan to keep stock flowing ahead of Christmas. So David Jones seems to have overestimated how much bargaining power it had.

What's the key learning?

💡 Slow-paying your suppliers might buy you time, but it costs you the relationship. David Jones asked for a 20-week repayment program just to restock for summer. But several former David Jones brands, including R.M.Williams, have since stopped supplying to them.

💡 And the luxury brands and RM Williams aren't the only ones. Accent Group, which distributes brands including UGG and Dr Martens, stopped supplying David Jones entirely in July after its unpaid stock exposure hit $2 million last year before eventually being repaid. In other words, the money comes first, then the UGGs.

💡 Clearly, once suppliers start seeing a retailer as a payment risk, they protect themselves. And that can mean fewer brands, less stock and ultimately a weaker retail position.