Profit continues to fall at David Jones HIGH-end department store David Jones says spending to revamp the business coupled with an ongoing tough trading environment are the driving forces behind a 13.5 per cent slide in profit. The group said profit for the six months to January 26 fell to $73.5 million, down from $85 million in the same period last year. Despite the drop, the figures beat leading analysts' expectations of a fall of about 18 per cent. But the result trailed rival Myer, which last week surprised the market after reporting a 0.7 per cent lift in first-half profit to $87.9 million. David Jones chief executive Paul Zahra said the company was focusing on its strategic plan, unveiled last year, which includes overhauling the website, upgrading the point of sale system and investing in customer service. He said the trading environment had remained challenging, and the group had been reducing the length and depth of its discounting in order to improve profit margins. "We have continued to make good progress in implementing our future strategic direction plan and delivered the initiatives outlined," Mr Zahra said. Our focus going forward is on improving our sales, margin and labour productivity per square metre. Mr Zahra said he believed the work being undertaken was positioning the company for the future. He said sales from the new online store in the six months to January were double those achieved in the whole of 2012. "We are confident the investment we are making will provide us with a strong sustainable business capable of addressing the retail structural changes currently taking place and positioning us for long term success," he said. David Jones last month announced first-half sales had fallen 0.7 per cent to $1.003 billion, down from $1.011 billion last year. The company said it was also looking at ways to make the most of the value of the buildings that house its flagship stores in the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs, while retaining ownership of its retail space. David Jones says a review of that process continues and will take some time due to its complexity. The company declared a fully-franked interim dividend of 10 cents per share.