The department store plans to open a new retail food concept at Malvern Central, Melbourne, in March 2018, delivering a premium food offering with an emphasis on convenience and quality to suit the discerning local customer.
The 550sqm David Jones Food store at Malvern will be the first concept in Melbourne to launch under the new David Jones Food moniker, which is pitched as “delivering the best fresh food and a carefully curated grocery and wine offering representing the best of Australia and the world”.
Most of the products will be under the department store’s own new premium David Jones Food label, which launched earlier this month. The own-brand offering features a comprehensive convenience selection comprising prepared vegetables, salads and fruit, and will also include innovative readymeals and ready-to-eat take-home options, including rotisserie chickens, sandwiches, sushi and coffee from the Espresso Bar.
Additional David Jones Food products, ranging from ice-cream and confectionary to meat, herbs and spices, will also be included in the Malvern Central offering. This will be complemented by a curated range of brands, many of which are exclusive to David Jones.
David Jones Group Executive Food Pieter de Wet says the group is excited to introduce a premium food retail offer to Malvern.
“Malvern Central is the ideal location for this offering, with an accessible centre that lends itself to convenience-food shopping and local customers who we know are well-travelled food lovers with high expectations for food quality and freshness,” he said. “We’re confident the new David Jones Food proposition will resonate strongly in this area.”
The opening will create about 50 new roles, including specialist food roles for the new Malvern food concept across a range of food categories, including baristas and experts in cheese, deli, wine and liquor.
David Jones is investing $100 million over three years in the national roll-out of its premium food offering, which started with the opening of a flagship food hall at its Bondi Junction store earlier this month, and the launch of its own premium food brand, David Jones Food.
The next phase of David Jones’ food plans include a similar food retail concept in Wollongong, NSW, opening in October, and the introduction of several standalone food stores in coming years.
