Retail News CRM

Tag: Myer

  • Myer welcomes Android and Apple pay on new credit card

    Myer welcomes Android and Apple pay on new credit card

    Myer has become the first Aussie retailer to launch Android Pay and Apple Pay on a Visa card, in a move that the department store retailer says accelerates its commitment towards digital.

    Launching this month, the card is issued by Macquarie Bank and supplied by Visa payment technology. It allows shoppers to access smart phone digital wallets and designed to make it easier to track and manage spending through the Myer credit card app.

    The new card is also now the only way for customers to earn Myer one shopping credits on eligible credit card purchases.

    “The card will provide our customers with an easier way to pay and reward them for their loyalty,” said Richard Umbers, Myer CEO and managing director.

    “We are delighted with our partnership with Macquarie and Visa which will further accelerate the growth of Myer’s digital capability.”

    The head of Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services Group, Greg Ward, said the finance firm had offered credit cards directly and through white label arrangements for “many years” and that the Myer partnership was the “latest step in supporting innovative digital banking solutions for Australians.”

    Stephen Karpin, Visa’s group country manager for ANZ and the South Pacific, said digital technology is driving “new and imaginative commerce experiences” within retail, and that “how people pay is at the heart of these experiences.”

    It’s the second tech-related launch embarked on by Myer in recent weeks, after the department store retailer dipped its toes into radio frequency identification technology, with a six to eight week trial.

    Lees ook:

  • Premier Investments requests Myer’s shareholders list

    Premier Investments requests Myer’s shareholders list

    Solomon Lew’s retail group Premier Investments has asked for Myer’s list of shareholders in a sign it may push for a seat on the board of the struggling department store.

    The company said it has made the request in order to consider writing to Myer’s members about any resolutions proposed for Myer’s annual general meeting in November.

    Premier Investments bought a 10.77 per cent stake in Myer in March, which has since lost around a third of its value to $64 million due to Myer’s sliding share price slid amid its weak financial performance.

    Lew this week accused the department store of losing its way, and misleading investors about how poorly it was performing in 2017.

    He has also said Myer’s newly opened clearance floors contain stock of up to three years old that “belongs in the Salvation Army”, and said the company is run mostly by consultants.

    Presenting Premier Investments’ financial results on Monday, Lew told analysts: “Whatever happens at Myer, we would like a seat at the table.”

    Shares in Myer, which are trading ex-dividend on Wednesday, jumped on the news, adding five cents, or 6.9 per cent, to 77.5 cents.

    Conversely, shares in Premier Investments continue to take a battering after it reported a modest annual profit increase, falling to a three-month-low on Wednesday.

    Smiggle and Peter Alexander continue to drive revenue growth for Premier Investments, but Morgan Stanley analysts have warned its apparel brands Jacqui E, Portmans, Just Jeans, JayJays and Dotti are dragging on earnings.

    While those brands make up a reducing portion of sales – 60 per cent in 2016/17 – the analysts said the risks facing the businesses “hold us back from turning more positive” on Premier Investments.

    “The structural challenges are intensifying as international retailers expand into regional Australia and as Amazon sets up direct retailing in the country – apparel is a category that is susceptible to online competition,” the analyst team led by John Stavliotis said in a note.

    They do not expect a sharp rebound in sales from those brands because of the challenging consumer environment, and predict a stabilisation, with risks remaining in the medium term.

    Premier Investments shares fell almost seven per cent in the two days after the company released its financial results, and dropped a further two per cent, or 25 cents, to $12.58 on Wednesday.

    Morgan Stanley analysts warned that Premier’s apparel brands Jacqui E, Portmans, Just Jeans, JayJays and Dotti are dragging on earnings.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Myer and Amazon announce deal

    Myer and Amazon announce deal

    Myer will stock Amazon Kindle products in its store and online, after the retailers today announced a new partnership.

    Amazon’s heavily-speculatedventure into Australia, alongside a host of other international brands now entering the market, have been posed as major risks by analysts to the 117 year old department store chain retailer, amid CEO Richard Umbers’ ambitious turnaround plan for the business.

    Today’s announcement sees Myer offer a selection of Kindle e-readers and device accessories.

    “We are thrilled to announce our program with Myer, a true icon of Australian retailing,” said Scott Harrington, director of Amazon Device Sales.

    “As the largest department store chain down under, Myer will help make e-reading even more accessible to literature enthusiasts across the nation.”

    “We want to help make it as easy as possible for Australians to delve into a good story. Now that Australians can shop for Kindle e-readers and accessories at Myer, we’re one step closer to that goal.”

    Dain Friis, Myer group general manager home and entertainment, said the “collaboration is a natural fit for us.”

    Earlier this month, former cross-border supply chain manager at Amazon, Brittain Ladd, said the US giant will begin its Australian entry with  a “basic model in terms of staging.”

    Temple & Webster CEO Mark Coulter said he’ll “probably” partner with Amazon in a panel discussion.

    Adairs CEO Mark Ronan is reviewing the possibility of bringing his company’s range of high-end Manchester to Amazon’s platform.

    Amazon itself has begun discussions with suppliers, with former Appliances Online head of buying Fabio Bertola having been brought on to oversee the rollout of marketplace.

    Meanwhile Myer boss Richard Umbers remains committed to his “wanted brands” strategy despite the retailer suffering a $46 million hit from the collapse of its Topshop experiment and continuing pain from fashion label sass & bide.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Myer expands accessory offering

    Myer expands accessory offering

    Millers, Katies and Rivers owner Specialty Fashion has almost quadrupled its full-year loss to $8.39 million, from last year’s $2.19 million, amid subdued consumer spending.

    Revenue fell 2.1 per cent to $808.9 million for the 12 months to June 30 with comparable sales down two per cent on a year ago due to heavy discounting.

    Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding impairments associated with the store exit costs of City Chic USA stores, rose 6.6 per cent to $26.7 million, but comparable store sales across the group declined 2 per cent for the year ended 30 June.

    A return to positive EBITDA growth at Rivers and strengthening sales for City Chic was offset by negative growth in the Millers, Crossroads, Autograph and Katies brands, with total group sales slipping 2.1 per cent to $808.9 million.

    Gross margins improved by 0.4 per cent through the year, but CEO Gary Perlstein has signalled intensifying promotional activity in the first weeks of FY18, which is expected to continue.

    The company gave no specific guidance, but said that there have been no additional discussions with prospective group buyer Al Alifia group since it signalled that an estate bungle was preventing it from transacting the prospective acquisition in February.

    $7.4 million in exit costs and impairments were recorded in relation to a decision to close City Chic’s US stores, with strengthening presence in department stores such as Macy’s and Nordstrom “removing the necessity for City Chic standalone stores”.

    “Depite it being a difficult trading enviroment, the improved EBITDA for the year was delivered through our core continuous business improvement strategy. This strategy focussed on profitability growth across all facets of the business, underpinned with a determination to control and reduce costs of doing business wherever possible,” Perlstein told the market on Tuesday morning.

    “Our clear focus for the year was the turnaround of Rivers to a profitable brand, and we successfully achieved this. City Chic was also a standout and continues its positive trajectory both locally and internationally. Our mature brands, including Millers, Katies, Crossroads and Autograph continued their growth in online sales, however found trade challenging,” he continued.

    Online sales increased by 15 per cent to $83.7 million through the year, bringing the total proportion of digital transactions to 10.4 per cent on the back of a network wide click-and-collect rollout.

    Weakening in-store sales correlated with 79 closures through the year, offset partially by 30 openings, bringing the total portfolio to 1,044.

    Underlying cost-of-doing business decreased by $7.7 million, but increased slightly as a proportion of sales due to slowing in-store momentum.

    Perlstein said the immediate focus in FY18 will be on “rejuvenating” mature brands within the portfolio, while enhancing the group’s digital position and continuing to grow River’s profitability.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Myer walks away from Topshop concessions

    Myer walks away from Topshop concessions

    At the time of writing, the company still lists the concessions on its website, but local reports said that there is little sign the brand had ever been there inside the 17 Myer stores that carried the women’s and men’s brands.

    The news comes just a few days after it emerged that the Australian Topshop/Topman administrators are closing as many as five of its standalone stores, including the first location the brands opened in the country. Only Emporium Melbourne, Gowings Sydney, Bondi Junction and Brisbane will continue.

    Arcadia has been talking to administrator Ferrier Hodgson since debts of A$35 million led to franchisee Austradia collapsing in May. Myer had bought a 25% stake in the business during 2015, four years after the brands’ Australian debut, and this was diluted to a still-substantial 20% holding last year. In its latest half-year results, Myer had written-down its A$9.2 million stake to A$7.2 million and the firm is also believed to be a major unsecured creditor of the failed business.

    It has also emerged that Austradia’s major shareholder Hilton Seskin had been holding talks with Arcadia about a restructure for some time before the collapse. While he said little at the time of the collapse, he has more recently been quoted criticising Arcadia’s Australian operating model saying the supply chain was too complex and the product made available in Australia, which was controlled by the UK business, was not strong enough.

    Arcadia is still expected to take direct control of the Australian business and reports have said it had been keen to retain the Myer link.

    The administrator has made little comment on the issues surrounding the Topshop and Topman brands but said its priority is still to find an “appropriate operating model and structure” to continue the brands in Australia.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Australia retail sales see surprise rebound in April

    Australia retail sales see surprise rebound in April

    Australia’s retail sales saw a surprise uptick in April, on the back of a revenue rebound across department stores, including David Jones and Myer, and strong sales in cafes and restaurants.

    According to the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), retail spending rose 1 per cent – the biggest monthly gain in close to three years – to $AU25.89 billion, surpassing market expectations of a 0.3 per cent rise.

    It’s a sound recovery for the Australian retail market, after a weak two months. Revised ABS data showed that retail sales fell 0.2 per cent in March and were flat in February.

    Cafes, restaurants and fast food sales were up 1.1 per cent in April, said the ABS, and food retailing rose 1.2 per cent. Department store sales were 2.5 per cent higher, it said.

    However, other categories merely inched forward. Sales growth in clothing and footwear was 0.3 per cent while household goods rose 0.4 per cent after falling for two straight months.

    By state, retail sales were up 2.4 per cent in Queensland after five consecutive months of falls as households replaced cyclone- and flood-damaged possessions, following Cyclone Debbie.

    Retail sales in New South Wales, Australia‘s most populous state and home to its most expensive real estate including Sydney, rose 0.1 per cent.

    Australian retail sales have been subdued over the past year or so at a time when wages growth is stuck at a record low 1.9 per cent.

    Lees ook:

  • Myer signs We Are Kindred to exclusive one-year deal

    Myer signs We Are Kindred to exclusive one-year deal

    Australian department stores giant Myer has signed growing local fashion label We Are Kindred to its roster. The three-year-old label has been signed up for an initial one-year deal with the retailer saying that two seasons are the minimum time it needs to judge a label’s appeal.

    Founded by Georgie Renkert, a fashion industry veteran, and her sister Lizzie, the latter said the We Are Kindred strategy was always to link-up with a major name retailer and they feel that the firm is ready for the increased scale this will mean in terms of logistics.

    She told the Sydney Morning Herald that Myer has “a good strategy in place for launching emerging brands like ours. We’re not a brand that they have.”

    The move comes as the Australian department store space gets increasingly competitive in terms of brands being signed to exclusive deals. Myer is also investing in its own Maticevski label and opening concessions for French brand The Kooples and Zadig & Voltaire. Meanwhile, in the past fortnight, major Myer rival David Jones has struck deals with well known labels Aje and By Johnny.

    Both Myer and David Jones are facing tough times and are positioning themselves to compete with a raft of international newcomers as well as with each other. More international fashion retail giants are opening in their market and the arrival of Amazon in Australia also means the stakes have been raised for online fashion and homewares retail there.

    Lees ook:

  • Myer may be planning to close stores

    Myer may be planning to close stores

    Australian retail giant Myer could close seven stores to help reignite sales growth, analysts say.

    The department store chain has a number of underperforming stores that could be closed to simplify the business and improve its financial performance, Citigroup analysts said.

    Myer has 67 stores across Australia, mostly in capital cities, but also in regional centres including Bendigo, Ballarat, Dubbo, Orange, Wagga and Mackay. Sales could also be boosted by lifting staff numbers and spending more on marketing, the Citi analysts said.

  • New Myer team to embark on transformation

    New Myer team to embark on transformation

    Myer shareholders are bracing for a sharp fall in earnings and big asset write-downs and provisions over the next few years as the new management team embarks on a multi-year transformation plan to reshape the 115-year-old department store chain.

    Analysts and investors believe the new team, led by former Woolworths and Australia Post executive Richard Umbers, needs to spend at least AUD150 million (USD117m) over the next three years, on top of underlying spending of AUD30 million a year, to reverse the effects of years of underinvestment in e-commerce, IT, service and stores.

    Myer’s earnings could fall by as much as 12 percent in 2016 because the investment will precede any significant rebound in sales, squeezing margins.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: