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Australia’s Biggest Department Store Group Myer Records Double-Digit Growth

The department store scion was a mainstay in Australia's retail scene for decades.
Myer's pre-Christmas trade was strong, but Omicron outbreaks have impacted sales since the New Year. (Shutterstock)
By
  • Khanh Linh

The department store operator reported a 12.3 percent increase in sales during the five months to Jan. 1, despite losing 27 percent of its brick-and-mortar trading days due to Covid-19-related lockdowns in different parts of Australia.

Though pre-Christmas sales rose by 17.1 percent, Myer chief executive John King said the more recent arrival of Omicron, which is spreading rapidly on Australia’s eastern seaboard, has already had a negative impact on trading since New Year.

The arrival of the new Covid strain resulted in a 2 percent decline in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute’s Australian consumer sentiment index in January, as Australians grew more cautious about spending.

“While we are seeing Omicron impact sales post-Christmas, we will continue to focus on growing our strong online business, ongoing engagement across our Myer One [loyalty] programme and disciplined management of costs and inventory,” he said.

Myer’s online trade rose 54.3 percent year-on-year in the five month period tracked in this most recent trading update and now accounts for 27.7 per cent of overall sales, compared with 20.2 percent a year earlier.

King said that despite an improved gross profit, the company has been facing higher costs of doing business, including the end of the Australian government’s JobKeeper subsidy that aimed to help companies continue to employ staff when Covid prevented trading.

Myer’s first-half results are scheduled for release in March.

For the full 2021 year, Myer achieved sales of 2.65 billion Australian dollars (US$1.88 billion), up 5.5 percent year-on-year and a statutory net profit of $46.4 million. That marked a significant turnaround on the 172.4 million deficit of the previous year when it suffered from the early impact of Covid-19.

Learn more:

Australian Retailer Sidney Baillieu Myer Dies, Aged 96

The son of Sidney Myer — patriarch of the Myer department store dynasty — followed in his father’s footsteps and was an instrumental figure in developing the Australian retail landscape.

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