Department store David Jones in Bondi Junction, Sydney has launched a new revamped food court. Photo/Bloomberg
Department store David Jones in Bondi Junction, Sydney has launched a new revamped food court. Photo/Bloomberg
Pieter de Wet, group executive of food at David Jones, "absolutely" believes that's what people will soon be saying in, as they flock to the up-market department store's upgraded food halls in Australia for breakfast, lunch and even a fancy dinner.
De Wet, speaking ahead of the official opening of the flagship Bondi Junction food hall on Thursday, said the A$100 million (NZ$107.2m), three-year investment into the overhauled food offering was an attempt to bring David Jones back to its foodie "heyday".
"There was a time, 10 or 15 years back, when the David Jones food halls were seen as world-class," he told news.com.au.
"Through the last decade [due to a] lack of investment, what used to be good is not good any more in today's world."
The new strategy came after extensive customer research showed David Jones food halls were no longer relevant.
"All the customers still remembered the heyday and spoke of it fondly, but always in the past tense," he said.
"And the younger customers, under 35, saw no relevance of David Jones food to them and their life."
"It was phenomenal research, it really informed to a large extent what we've created at Bondi. [The response] was clear - don't just evolve the old David Jones, that's not good enough, it's got to be a complete revolution."
The premium offering will include an oyster bar, bakery, deli, private dining room and two restaurants, offering everything from casual, family-friendly dining to up-market dinner service and even a "food concierge" to assist with customer inquiries.
After Bondi, David Jones will roll out its revamped food halls in Wollongong and Melbourne later this year, and plans to experiment with a number of stand-alone food stores selling the exclusive range, developed with celebrity chef Neil Perry.
David Jones cheese expert Recep Ahmtov. Photo/John Appleyard
The number of product lines has been reduced to about 8500, a "curated edit of the best of local and the world", with about 40 per cent consisting of David Jones-branded products, with plans to expand that to 70 per cent.
Around half of the products are new to David Jones, and about 85 per cent are Australian-sourced and produced.
"The quality of the store fitout itself and the environment is world-class," said de Wet. "It's not pretentious, it's very simple, it's all around really good, raw materials and simple dishes that deliver incredible flavour."
Drawing on examples from international retailers including Eataly, La Place and Marks & Spencer, the goal for David Jones is to merge "food retail and food service" into one environment.
David Jones is spending A$100 million over three years on its food halls. Photo/Fiora Sacco
"In essence [what that means is] the customer can sit in the restaurant in Bondi, eat an amazing wagyu steak, and if she wants to replicate that at home she can go to the checkout and buy the exact same raw materials," de Wet said.
"We sell what we serve and serve what we sell."
De Wet said the food strategy was an important driver of the overall business.
"It drives footfall, frequency of shop, that brings people into the bigger business," he said.
"Over time we're going to trial and test these different formats, stand-alone stores, and we'll see which ones work well and which don't before we put our foot down on either channel."
In February, David Jones's South African parent company Woolworths Holdings unveiled lacklustre half-year results for the Australian department store, blaming high levels of discounting, the closure of Dick Smith concessions and a poorly executed private label strategy for a drop in sales growth.
David Jones food halls will stock around 8500, mostly exclusive products. Photo/John Appleyard
While acknowledging that "the food business in Australia is very competitive", chief executive Ian Moir said engaging customers in this space would be key to David Jones' success.
"In the world of the future, retail will have to be really engaging and entertaining - it has to be an experience," he said.
"So in our food business, we're not going to be selling tins of beans ... We'll be selling the best of everything from across the world. It has to be great."
David Jones currently holds an 11.6 per cent market share of Australia's A$19.5 billion department stores industry, with rival Myer holding 17.1 per cent, according to market research firm IBISWorld.
