Retail queen Jan Cameron to shut homewares and furniture chain

Rich list member and retail veteran Jan Cameron has announced plans to close her Dog’s Breakfast Trading Company chain in Australia and New Zealand, with the majority of the stores set to become part of Cameron’s Chickenfeed discount chain.

Dog’s Breakfast, which has five stores in Australia and 12 in New Zealand, was launched about two years ago, after Cameron sold the outdoor wear retailer Kathmandu for about $330 million and before she formed Retail Adventures, which houses four separate discount retail chains include Chickenfeed, Go-Lo, Sam’s Warehouse and Crazy Clarke’s.

Cameron told New Zealand’s Business Day website that while the stores were still profitable, she was keen to reduce the number of brands she has operating in the market.

On top of her discount brands, Cameron also has a new chain called NOOD (which stands for New Objects of Desire).

“There are too many brands. I’ve got about five in Australia and I’m trying to reduce it to three,” Cameron told the website.

The report suggests the Australian stores, located in Melbourne and Cameron’s home state of Tasmania, will be converted to Chickenfeed stores over the next six months.

SmartCompany sought confirmation from Retail Adventures, but a spokesperson was not available to comment prior to publication.

In New Zealand, at least two Dog’s Breakfast stores will become NOOD stores, while at least one store has closed and will not be replaced.

Cameron has previously said she will spend $NZ45 million to develop the Chickenfeed brand in New Zealand, with the first stores to open in the first quarter of 2011.

Cameron, who is believed to oversea an empire with annual turnover of about $1 billion, recently revealed she has given about $35 million away to animal charities.

In an interview with ABC Television’s Australian Story, Cameron also said she remains a fiercely committed entrepreneur.

“I think I have a reputation for being very hard-nosed in business and I think that’s probably quite correct. I take competition extremely seriously and I like to win.”