David Jones has signed a retail brand management deal with Dick Smith, which will see the consumer electronics retailer manage the business segment on behalf of the department store.
Under the three-year deal, which begins in October, Dick Smith will pay an annual fee to David Jones along with a percentage of sales in exchange for operating its underperforming electronics department.
“We’ve always said that electronics was problematic… and this is one of those categories that Dick Smith are famous for,” David Jones chief executive Paul Zahra says.
“In effect we have transformed what was an underperforming category in our business into a profit contributor.”
Newcrest mining reports record $5.8 billion loss
Goldmining giant Newcrest has reported a loss of $5.8 billion, the largest ever full-year loss by a mining company, as a result of asset writedowns and a tumbling gold price.
The drop represents a massive year-on-year drop from its $1.117 billion profit last year, triggered by $6.229 billion in writedowns across Asia, Africa and Australia.
Other contributing factors include the underperforming Lihir Island goldmine in Papua New Guinea, poor ground conditions at its Gosowong mine in Indonesia and problems with a conveyor belt at its Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea.
BlackBerry up for sale
Struggling smartphone giant BlackBerry is up for sale, with the company’s largest shareholder stepping down from the board ahead of a possible takeover bid.
Prem Watsa, whose Fairfax Financial Holdings group controls 9.9% of the troubled smartphone giant, stepped down from the board, prompting speculation he is preparing to launch a bid to take the company private.
Over the weekend, rumours began circulating about the possibility of a bid involving private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, with the news following the resignation of a string of senior managers in recent weeks.
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down to 15419.7. The Aussie dollar is down to US91.42 cents.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
