PRESS RELEASE: Fremantle Icon The Chart & Map Shop Reopens Under New Ownership
David Metcalf has acquired the business and, with the help of his team, rebuilt the much-loved specialist retailer, which is now open with the same expert service and a completely overhauled stock and delivery system.
PERTH, WA – The Chart & Map Shop, a much-loved Fremantle fixture for decades, is back. Under new ownership, the iconic store has reopened in a new home in Jolimont, ready to welcome travellers, sailors and map enthusiasts once again. The specialist retailer, which entered liquidation in March 2026, has been acquired and rebuilt, and is now trading from a new store in Jolimont alongside a completely reconfigured online business.
For more than twenty years the shop has been a trusted name across Western Australia, stocking everything from topographic maps to globes, travel guides, vintage posters and hard-to-find titles. Its team became known for printing and laminating maps on the spot and tracking down obscure publications, building a following that reached well beyond Fremantle and, in many cases, overseas. That personal, knowledgeable service has stayed exactly as customers remember it. What has changed sits behind the scenes.
“People fell in love with this shop because of its range and its people, and none of that is going anywhere. What let customers down towards the end was never the staff or the products, only a culmination of system based things. We have rebuilt all of these from the ground up, so that when we say something is in stock, it is, and when we ship it, you can track it to your door.”
– Aidan Sorci
The relaunch was built around the exact issues that frustrated customers in the shop’s final months. A new real-time inventory system means the stock shown online is genuinely available, removing the guesswork that once led to unexpected delays. An overhauled fulfilment and delivery process, with reliable tracking on every order, has replaced the courier and communication problems of the past. Orders are dispatched promptly and customers are kept informed at every step.
The new owners are also acknowledging those affected by the previous company’s collapse.
While the new owners are a separate legal entity with no liability for the former business’s unfilled orders, affected customers are being offered a goodwill store credit, redeemable across the new range.
“The Chart & Map Shop holds a special place for so many people. We know some customers were let down before we took over, and we don’t take that lightly. Our job is to give the business the solid foundations it always deserved.”
– Aidan Sorci
The reopened store carries the same breadth of maps, globes and books that made the original a destination, now backed by a faster, more reliable online experience for customers across Australia and around the world.
Globes are a particular highlight. The store already holds a huge range, with much more arriving soon, and a globe makes the perfect Christmas gift for anyone still looking.
The Chart & Map Shop is now open at its Jolimont store and online at chartandmapshop.com.au.
