Myer Holdings Limited (MYR) announced this week that it will close its store at the Top Ryde City shopping centre in Sydney.
Myer CEO and Managing Director, Richard Umbers, said while the everyday focus remains on running the business, work to conclude our strategic review continues, which includes an assessment of the productivity of all assets.
“We have recently undertaken an extensive analysis of our current and future customer base, on a catchment by catchment basis that now informs our decision making,” Mr Umbers said.
“A review of MYER one data indicated that the majority of our customers are now choosing to shop at nearby Myer stores. After careful assessment, the decision has been made to close the Myer Top Ryde store in late July 2015.”
The opportunity to exit at this time has been facilitated by plans underway to redevelop the centre.
Over the past 12 months Myer has been trialling three stand-alone, speciality stores in Melbourne’s North. These stores stocked Myer Exclusive Brands in Womenswear, Menswear and Childrenswear.
While significant insights have been gained from the trial, the decision has been made to close these stores at the end of August and to focus on the core Myer business in bricks and mortar and online.
The focus remains on building relevance with customers, to deliver a more sustainable and more profitable business into the long term.
Mr Umbers said that a strategy update would be provided in due course.
Myer’s shares dipped by two cents (1.33 per cent) to $1.48.
In March, the retail giant previously reduced its full year profit to between $75 and $80 million well below the previous year’s profit of $98.5 million but the company posted a lift in third quarter sales last month.