This is the statement from Big W:

"This was an extremely difficult decision given the incredible support the project has received from the community and, in particular from Council and Mayor Katrina Humphries who could not have done more to assist.

In the eight years since the project first commenced, the development has become financially unviable and the current state of the retail sector in Australia has further added to that uncertainty.

As a value-driven discount department store reliant on high sales volumes at low margins, it is vital that each Big W store has low development and operational costs. This was no longer the case for the Moree project.

Big W would like to sincerely thank the Moree community for its unfailing support for the development and its commitment to furthering investment and opportunity in Moree."