Serious questions are being asked about the future of Myer and department stores overall after Myer has suffered a horror start to their key Christmas, New Year trading period.
Sales are down 5% and falling with several analysts speculating that the Melbourne based Company will be a takeover target next year.
In a second-quarter trading update released earlier today the department store said November trade had also been worse than expected, despite heavy investment in marketing and measures to increase foot traffic.
Whats not known is how much Amazon and Black Friday sales by other retailers have impacted Myer.
Total sales last month were down 2.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2016, and down 1.8 per cent on a same-store basis.
Myer’s shares plunged almost 7 per cent in the first 30 minutes of trading on the ASX, falling from 72¢ to 67¢. The stock has shed 52 per cent of its value this year.
The poor result follows months of open warfare with Myer’s largest shareholder, Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, which has been scathing of the company’s management and strategy.
“Trading during the past two weeks has been significantly below our expectations and the year-to-date run rate,” Myer chief executive Richard Umbers said.
