Myer facts for kids
Logo used from 1984 to 2016, and again from 2023 to present
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| Public company | |
| Traded as | ASX: MYR |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1900, Melbourne, Australia |
| Founder | Sidney Myer |
| Headquarters | 1000 La Trobe Street Docklands, Victoria, Australia |
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Number of locations
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57 (2023) |
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Key people
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| Products | Womenswear, Menswear, Beauty, Homewares, Electrical, Toys, and General Merchandise |
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Operating income
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Number of employees
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14,000+ |
Myer, also known as MYER, is a popular Australian department store. It sells a wide variety of products for homes and people. You can find clothing for women, men, and children, along with shoes and accessories. Myer also offers cosmetics, fragrances, homewares, electronics, toys, books, and travel items.
Myer stores are located in all Australian states and one of its territories. Its main competitor is another department store called David Jones. The Myer Group also owns several fashion brands. These include Sass & Bide, Marcs, David Lawrence, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Portmans, and Dotti.
For 12 years, Australian model and former Miss Universe 2004, Jennifer Hawkins, was the well-known "face of Myer." She left this role in 2018.
Myer's Journey: A Look at Its History
Starting Small: Myer's Early Days
The Myer retail company was started by Sidney Myer. He moved to Melbourne, Australia, from Belarus in 1899. He arrived with very little money and did not speak much English. He joined his older brother, Elcon Myer, who had come to Australia two years earlier.
They opened their first Myer store in Bendigo in 1900. After doing well, they opened a second store in Bendigo in 1908.
In 1911, Sidney Myer bought a business called Wright and Neil, which sold drapery, in Bourke Street, Melbourne. A new building for the store was finished and opened in 1914. From this beginning, Myer grew to become Australia's largest chain of department stores. It was the only chain with stores in every Australian state.
In 1918, Myer bought the Doveton woollen mills in Ballarat. In 1921, a new building was added in Melbourne. Over the next few years, Myer bought more nearby properties. This led to the creation of a large store known as the Myer Emporium. The original 1914 building was designed by architects HW & FB Tompkins. They continued to design all the expansions for the next 20 years. The Myer store expanded to Lonsdale Street in the 1920s. The Bourke Street front was also expanded and rebuilt in 1933.
The Myer Emporium grew by buying other established businesses. In Adelaide, in 1925, Myer SA Stores Ltd bought a large part of Marshall's department store. Myer continued to grow by opening its own stores and buying other department stores. These included Boans in Western Australia in 1984 and Grace Bros in New South Wales in 1983.
New Brands: Target and Grace Bros
In 1968, Myer bought Lindsay's stores in Geelong. They renamed this business Target. It became a discount department store chain.
The company also started to expand into other areas. They bought liquor stores and fast food places like Red Rooster.
In 1983, Grace Bros bought Myer's stores in New South Wales. Then, in July of that year, Myer bought Grace Bros Holdings Ltd. The Myer store on Market and Pitt Streets in Sydney became the main Grace Bros store.
In 1984, Myer bought Boans, a major department store chain in Western Australia. They then started a big project to improve their Perth City Store.
Joining Forces: Merger with GJ Coles
In 1985, the Myer Emporium and Target merged with GJ Coles & Coy. This new company was called Coles Myer. It became Australia's largest retailer at the time. Myer remained a separate part of this new company until it was sold in 2006.
In 2000, the CEO of Coles Myer, Dennis Eck, tried to make Myer and Grace Bros stores more affordable. He lowered service levels and added more products. This made the stores similar to Target, another Coles Myer chain. This change led to fewer customers visiting and buying less. In 2001, Coles Myer decided to change the stores back to attract customers they had lost.
In 2003, a new Managing Director, Dawn Robertson, made a key change. She grouped each Myer Grace Bros store based on the area's wealth, sales, and growth potential. Larger city stores were at the top, and smaller regional stores were at the bottom. This grouping decided which products each store would sell. This meant a store in downtown Melbourne would not sell the same items as a store in regional Queensland.
On 13 February 2004, all Grace Bros stores were renamed Myer.
In April 2004, Myer reopened its Bondi Junction store. This store replaced a former Grace Bros store that closed in April 2002 for redevelopment. It was the first Myer store to open in several years. It featured new designs like shiny white floor tiles and lots of glass.
Under Dawn Robertson, Myer focused more on the Sydney market. They wanted to compete strongly with their main rival, David Jones, especially in ladies' fashion. In February 2004, Myer held its Sydney fashion show the day before David Jones. On 9 August 2004, Myer held an open-air fashion show in Martin Place. This gained a lot of attention, and again, it was held the day before David Jones' show.
Myer Becomes Independent Again
On 17 August 2005, Coles Myer announced they would decide what to do with Myer within 12 months. They considered selling it, separating it, or keeping it. Thirteen companies showed interest in buying all or part of Myer.
On 13 March 2006, Coles Myer announced they would sell Myer. It was sold to a group led by a US company called Newbridge Capital. The Myer family was also part of this group, owning 5% of the company. The new owners said they would not make big changes to the business right away. This sale was completed for A$1.4 billion on 2 June 2006.
Myer Under New Ownership
After Myer was sold by Coles Myer, Newbridge Capital and the Myer family appointed new leaders. Bill Wavish became chairman, and Bernie Brookes became chief executive. Both had worked at Woolworths before. Rupert Myer joined the board to represent the Myer family. Myer's main office moved back to Lonsdale House in Melbourne's CBD.
In July 2006, Myer held a "History Making Clearance" sale. They wanted to sell off extra stock that was not selling well or was not profitable. They reduced their inventory from $1.5 billion to $750 million. All store-specific warehouses were closed.
Former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins started appearing in Myer advertisements in 2006. In January 2007, she signed a $4 million deal to be the "face" of Myer for four years.
Myer stopped being part of the flybuys rewards program on 1 February 2007.
In March 2007, Myer announced strong earnings for the first half of the year. Their profit before interest and tax was $123 million, which was an 84% increase from the previous year. This meant a profit margin of 6.8%. The chairman, Bill Wavish, said that all Myer stores were now making a profit. Myer also bought four Harris Scarfe stores.
The Mymerch system, developed with IBM and Oracle, was put in place in April 2007. This system cost $99 million. It helped Myer analyze customer buying habits. This allowed them to better predict sales trends and plan promotions.
In June 2007, a group including the Myer family and other companies announced they would buy Myer's Melbourne CBD store. The Bourke Street part of the store was planned to be redeveloped by 2009. Myer would then lease it for 60 years. The redevelopment was finished in March 2011. The Lonsdale Street part of the store closed in 2009.
Becoming a Public Company
In September 2009, Myer announced it would offer its shares to the public. This happened on 2 November. The share price was set between $3.90 and $4.90. The final price was $4.10.
In 2010, Myer's redeveloped Bourke Street mall store opened. It became the company's new main store. The head office moved to a new location in Docklands. The historic Lonsdale Street store officially closed.
In early 2011, Myer bought 65% of an Australian women's fashion brand called Sass & Bide for A$42.25 million. In October 2013, Myer bought the remaining 35% of the business for $30 million.
In January 2014, it was reported that Myer had tried to buy and merge with its rival, David Jones. The idea was to keep both chains running separately but combine their back-office and supply chain operations. This could save both companies an estimated $5 billion per year. David Jones rejected Myer's offer. Later, in February 2014, Myer made another offer. However, Woolworths South Africa then offered to buy David Jones. Myer withdrew its proposal after the Woolworths deal. Myer's long-time CEO, Bernie Brookes, left the company in March 2015.
In April 2017, Myer bought two fashion brands, Marcs and David Lawrence. These brands had faced financial difficulties.
On 27 March 2020, Myer announced it would temporarily close all its stores. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 10,000 staff members were temporarily stood down. Myer continued to operate its online store. Myer planned to reopen all stores by 30 May 2020.
In late October 2024, Myer announced a deal to buy Premier Investments' Apparel Brands division. This division includes fashion brands like Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Portmans, and Dotti. As part of the deal, Myer issued new shares to Premier Investments. Solomon Lew joined the Myer board. The brands officially became part of Myer in January 2025 after shareholders approved the deal.
Myer Stores and Services
MYER one Rewards Program
The MYER one program started in August 2004. It replaced a discount card that Coles Myer shareholders used to have.
Myer updated its MYER one program by adding different reward levels. There are four levels: Standard, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each level depends on how much a customer spends and offers special benefits. The Platinum membership is by invitation only. It is for Myer's highest-spending customers and was added in May 2013.
In September 2010, Myer said there were 3.7 million members and five million cards in use. Over 20,000 members had Gold status, meaning they spent over $7,500 each year. Sales from members made up 68% of Myer's total sales. As of February 2024, the Myer One program has more than 7 million members.
Myer Store Cards and Credit Cards
Myer used to have a store card. This was later replaced by a Coles Myer Card. After Myer was sold, it launched a new Myer card in October 2006.
In November 2007, Myer launched a Visa credit card. This card was linked to the MYER one card. Myer hoped this would make customers more loyal.
In 2017, Myer changed its credit card partner. Myer relaunched its store branded credit program as the New Myer Credit Card. It is now offered by Macquarie Group.
Myer Store Locations
As of April 2024, Myer has 56 stores across Australia. These stores are in both big cities and smaller regional towns.
The main Myer store for the whole country is in the Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne. It had a $300 million redevelopment and officially opened in April 2011.
In 1988, The Myer Centre opened in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall. It had six floors of stores. The top two levels used to have an indoor amusement park called Tops. It featured a swinging ship and Australia's first indoor roller coaster. The amusement park closed in 2000. The top two levels were then changed into a cinema complex.
In 1991, the Myer Centre opened in Adelaide. It housed the largest Myer store in South Australia. It also had over 80 smaller shops. The shopping centre had an eight-level atrium inside. Until 1998, the top two levels of the atrium had an indoor amusement park called Dazzeland. It featured Australia's only indoor rollercoaster.
In 2006, Myer announced it would open several new stores. This started with four former Harris Scarfe stores. In 2008, Myer opened two new stores in Sydney. These replaced former David Jones stores.
On 22 September 2007, Myer's Liverpool Street, Hobart building was destroyed by a fire. The damage was estimated at $50 million. Most of the stock was lost. Myer quickly announced it would rebuild. The Murray Street section of the store reopened 44 days after the fire. A new five-level Myer store finally reopened in November 2015.
Myer opened a store in the redeveloped Top Ryde City in northern Sydney in 2010. This Myer store closed in July 2015.
In April 2008, Myer announced it would open three new stores in Queensland. Myer also announced it would open a store at East Maitland in 2011, which was later delayed until 2013.
In 2009, Myer said it would open stores at Westfield Tuggerah on the New South Wales Central Coast, Westfield Woden in Canberra, and Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. They had plans for 12 stores in total. However, they later reduced these plans.
Myer groups its stores into four categories. These categories reflect the types of shoppers in each area. The category decides what products are sold, what services are offered, and how much money is spent on improvements. As of September 2015, the categories were Flagship (7 stores), Premium (16 stores), Mainstream (27 stores), and Community (17 stores).
In 2017, Myer announced it would reduce its overall store space by 20%. This would happen by making some Myer stores smaller, reducing office space, and closing other Myer stores. Since this announcement, Myer has closed stores in Wollongong Central, Brookside Shopping Centre, and Orange. Myer also introduced "Clearance Floors." These floors sold Myer's unsold stock at a lower price. These eight clearance floors operated from 2017 until 2019. The new CEO, John King, announced a plan to stop this model in 2019. He wanted to focus more on premium products.
In September 2017, Myer said it would close three more stores: Colonnades, Belconnen, and Hornsby.
In January 2019, Myer closed its Logan Hyperdome store in Loganholme, Queensland. On 13 January 2020, the Myer location at Hornsby, Sydney, closed. This left 60 locations. Myer decided to keep and refurbish the Belconnen store instead of closing it. This completed Myer's strategy, resulting in 6 store closures and 60 Myer stores remaining.
On 4 December 2020, Myer Belconnen reopened with two floors.
In March 2021, Myer announced its store at Westfield Knox in Melbourne would close after 44 years. Myer Knox closed in late July of that year.
In April 2022, the store at Westpoint Blacktown in Sydney closed. It had first opened in 1973.
In August 2022, Myer announced its Frankston store in Melbourne would close permanently. The last day of trading was 15 January 2023.
On 16 March 2023, Myer announced it would not renew its lease at the Brisbane Queen Street Mall location. This was because they could not agree on terms with the landlord. Myer looked for a new location in the CBD. This ended 35 years of continuous operation at the site in July 2023.
Online Shopping
Myer used to have its own mail order company called Myer Direct. It operated from 1989 until it was sold in January 2002. In October 2007, Myer launched an online gift store. It included electronics, perfumes, clothing, and gift cards.
In 2011, Myer launched an online shopping site called myfind.com. It was based in Hong Kong and was for Australian shoppers. This site has since closed.
In December 2017, Myer launched The Myer Market. This was an online marketplace that operated separately from myer.com.au. It offered a wider range of products. Some of these products were not usually available in Myer stores.
Images for kids
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The Myer logo, featuring the "my store" slogan which is used from 2018-present
