Breaking: Significant number of David Jones stores set to close

David Jones's receiver is set to close a significant number of the retailer's department stores.Staff in the affected locations are currently being briefed, with more formal announcements expected later today.The retailer, which has 38 stores nationally, was placed in voluntary administration less than a week ago.McGrath Nicol has been appointed as the voluntary administrator.Analysts have previously earmarked regional sites and outlets in places like Western Sydney as ripe for closure.The collapse of the 188-year-old department store comes after negations with major landlord Westfield broke down, with the retailer's owner, Scentre Group, confirming it had not paid rent since September in breach of its contracts. Five outlets in Westfield shopping centres have already been flagged for closures due to them running at a loss, including Parramatta, Hornsby, Woden in Canberra, Carousel in Perth and Southland in Melbourne.Analytics firm MST Marquee has speculated about which stores may close.