Four Dimmeys stores to close in Victoria
Much-loved discount chain Dimmeys has been gifted a lifeline, with a last-minute restructure saving some Victorian stores from closure. Here’s which stores will be closing their doors.
Business
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Dimmeys is back from the brink, with a management restructure to keep the 167-year-old retailer trading.
The much-loved discount chain on Friday announced it was under new management and would keep the bulk of its stores open in its core market of Victoria.
The management restructure has seen part-owner Doug Zappelli take over the day-to-day running of the retail chain, famous for rock-bottom prices.
Mr Zappelli will push ahead with a program to close all 15 Dimmeys stores in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.
But he will now keep open up to a dozen stores in Victoria from a network of 16.
Stores that will shut include Geelong and Swan Hill.
Mr Zappelli said Dimmeys would only keep open stores that the company owned.
“We will have a much smaller business but it will be an easier business to operate,” he said.
“We’ve been in business since 1853. If we stick to our policy of providing the customer with a bargain, they will keep coming back.”
Under a new business model, Mr Zappelli will also sell a number of stores to existing store managers who will operate them under the Dimmeys brand.
Mr Zappelli said while jobs would be lost in the restructure, he was pleased that about 100 positions would be retained in Victoria.
Mr Zappelli is returning to a hands-on role at Dimmeys having previously been banned from managing a corporation for six years, after the retailer was found to have sold products which breached safety laws.
Dimmeys announced it was closing all its stores in November in a Facebook post which attracted more than 2000 comments, the bulk of them from disappointed customers.
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The nation’s retail sector has been hit with a string of store closures over the past three months including department store Harris Scarfe, womenswear chains Bardot and Jeanswest, educational retailer Curious Planet and games store EB Games.
Mr Zappelli said high rents and costs and government red tape was killing retail, and he expected more well-known businesses to close.
“There are a lot of retailers out there that are really on the edge,” he said.