Department store operator David Jones has cast aside a difficult Christmas trading season and industry doom and gloom to announce the opening of a new store in a high-growth area of Brisbane.

The upmarket chain says it expects to generate more than $40 million in sales a year from the large store at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Brisbane’s southwest corridor.

In contrast, rival Myer recently announced the closure of some of its stores and a reduction in floor space.

But analysts believe there are still opportunities for the major retailers to open profitable stores in the right areas.

David Jones chief executive Paul Zahra said the company had signed a 20-year agreement to lease 14,200 square metres of space in Indooroopilly Shopping Centre because of its location in Brisbane’s growing southwest corridor.

“It has the best demographic profile in metropolitan Brisbane and is a centre we have wanted to be present in for some time as we believe it’s high growth, high value demography is a perfect fit for our customer offering,” Mr Zahra said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said it was the sixth-highest value store in its pipeline after Highpoint in Victoria, Macquarie in NSW, Sunshine Plaza in Queensland, Whitford in WA and Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast.

The new David Jones store will be part of a $450-million development of a fashion wing at the southeast end of the existing Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

The company says it expects the Indooroopilly trade area to continue growing at 5.6 per cent a year, with more than 35,000 high-income earners in its catchment.

City Index chief market analyst Peter Esho said that while major department store chains were looking to get out of some weaker performing shopping centres there were opportunities in areas with little competition but population growth.

“If you get a good position in a really good development it can be a profitable operation and David Jones is a group that is still a very profitable business despite all the bad news and despite profitability going backwards,” Mr Esho said.

No major dominant online retailer had emerged in Australia which was fortunate for David Jones.

“The opportunity is really here for the department stores to embrace online and use it and become the dominant players in that channel,” Mr Esho said.

David Jones shares closed four cents, or 1.4 per cent, higher at $2.36.