Myer says a small decline in sales in the third quarter is due to store refurbishments, including to its Adelaide city store, and the closure of its Elizabeth store.
Total sales were $646.5 million, down 0.93 percent compared with last year’s third quarter.
Myer Chief Executive Officer Bernie Brookes said that overall sales were positive.
“The marginal decline in total sales reflected the continued significant sales impact of the refurbishment of three of our top 20 stores and the commencement of a refurbishment at the Macquarie (NSW) store in February,” he said.
“In addition, sales continued to be impacted by the closure of Dandenong (VIC) last October and more recently the closure of the store at Elizabeth (SA) in February.”
Three of Myer’s top 20 stores which continue to undergo significant refurbishment are Adelaide City, Indooroopilly (QLD) and Miranda (NSW).
“In line with our plan to improve the productivity of our store network, the Elizabeth store was closed in February 2014 with all team members successfully re-deployed to other stores.
“We are encouraged by the improved trading performance of the nearby store at Tea Tree Plaza since the closure of our store at Elizabeth.”
During the fourth quarter, sales are expected to benefit from the completion of the refurbishments of the Adelaide store this month and the Indooroopilly store in June 2014.
“Trading at our flagship store in Melbourne has benefited from the recent openings of a number of new retailers in the Melbourne CBD, including the first stage opening of the Emporium development, particularly in the key categories of womenswear and youth. There has been improved customer traffic flow into the store during the third quarter.”
In a statement to the stock exchange today, Myer said its Myer Exclusive Brands performed strongly during the period with Piper, Trent Nathan, Chloe & Lola, sass & bide intimates and Bauhaus all delivering strong sales growth.
“The creation of master brands such as Piper and Trent Nathan across multiple categories continues to be well received by customers.”
