Jay Jays is the latest chain store to fall victim to a retail slump in the ACT closing two of its underperforming stores in the past six months.
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The retail chain closed its Tuggeranong Hyperdome store in August and its Canberra Centre store will wind up on January 26.
Its stores at Westfield Belconnen, the Canberra Outlet Centre in Fyshwick and Woden Plaza will remain, and it's understood most permanent staff from the closed store will be transferred.
The closure comes as the ACT was revealed to have the second worst retail spending of all states and territories up just 6.2 per cent in the September quarter on the decade average, according to the CommSec State of the States report which found it had the third weakest economy.
The ACT had the worst retail sector in Australia for 2014, a report by Deloitte Access Economics found, with consumer confidence hit hard by cuts to the public service.
Canberra's retail turnover was tipped to grow by just 1.9 per cent a year over the next five years, compared with a nationwide forecast of 2.7 per cent.
Retail trade in the ACT rose by 0.9 per cent in November with a total turnover of about $451 million up on October's turnover of about $430 million, the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
Retailers in Canberra's shopping malls have got off to a bumpy start for 2015.
Most recently Westfield Woden lost Man to Man menswear when the company went into voluntary administration.
Jay Jays' parent company Premier Retail, which also runs Just Jeans, Smiggle, Portmans, Dotti, Jacqui E, and Peter Alexander, announced a strategy to open in high-value locations and close in places where the rent was too high in 2014.
Overall sales for the company grew by 6.2 per cent to $884 million in the 2013/14 financial year, but Jay Jays was one of the weaker performing chains with sales falling 3.5 per cent to $161.4 million and eight loss-making stores closed.
The struggling Canberra Centre store advertised for casual staff as recently as November.
The Canberra Times understands staff were told of the pending closure prior to Christmas.
Canberra Centre manager Amanda Paradiso said it was not appropriate to comment on the commercial operations of its retailers, but said the shopping centre regularly reviewed its retail mix in line with normal lease cycles.
She would not say if a replacement tenant had been secured for the site.
The vacant site left by the Tuggeranong Jay Jays was merged with neighbouring stores to make way for Surf, Dive 'N Ski in early December.
The hyperdome's management declined to comment on the Tuggeranong closure.
Jay Jay's parent company Premier Retail was contacted for comment.
