Myer
This article is about the department store. For other users, see Myer (disambiguation).Myer is an
Australian chain of
department stores founded in
1900 by
Sidney Myer, in the regional
Victorian town of
Bendigo. It is now Australia's largest department store brand, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's and menswear, homewares, electrical goods, books and music. In 1985 the Myer Emporium merged with
GJ Coles & Coy forming Australia's largest retailer -
Coles Myer Limited, however Myer remained a distinct entity within the new corporate structure.
There are 61 Myer stores located in all
States and territories of Australia (except the
Northern Territory). The largest store (and largest department store in Australia) is located in
Melbourne and comprises two connected buildings - one facing
Bourke Street and the other
Lonsdale Street. Other major locations include
Pitt Street Mall, Sydney;
Queen Street Mall,
Brisbane;
Murray Street,
Perth; and
Rundle Mall,
Adelaide. There are numerous suburban locations throughout these cities as well as many regional stores scattered throughout Australia.
In February,
2004, the
Grace Bros. brand in
New South Wales was replaced by Myer, although since the late 1980s, the two brands were owned by the same company and operated in exactly the same manner.
On August 17,
2005, it was announced by parent company
Coles Myer that the Myer chain would be demerged, divested in a trade sale or a decision made to retain the business within the next 12 months. Thirteen expressions of interest have been made for all or part of Myer. Reasons for this decision were based on a strategic five year plan to see how the brand would fit. The supermarket and liquor brands within the group focus largely on volume sales and value for customers through aggressive marketing strategies. Coles Myer Ltd is the only retailer in the world to have added a full line department store brand to its holdings.
In late 2005/early 2006, the Myer Bourke Street Melbourne city store underwent an extensive redevelopment to the basement of both the Lonsdale and Bourke street buildings. This included opening up the basement, some of which was previously used for storage, underneath both stores as well as Little Bourke Street. 'The Basement', as its known, has been redeveloped with young people in mind, including an extensive list of major hip fashion designers and also some less known brands in a fun and quirky environment. The basement has an industrial atmosphere with modern music played throughout and casually dressed staff in line with the new design.
On Monday 13th of March,
2006, Coles Myer announced it would sell Myer to a consortium including the Myer family, whom hold a 5% stake, which is largely controlled by US
private equity group
Newbridge Capital, part of the
Texas Pacific group. The new owners, who have also secured the freehold on the flagship Bourke Street store, have indicated that they will not radically change the business, at least in the short term, and have no plans to redevelop the Bourke Street site as this would impact too heavily on profitability during the construction period. Texas Pacific also have interests in UK department store
Debenhams and high-end US retailer
Neiman Marcus. Management expertise from these retailers will be used to refine Myer's approach. This sale was completed on the 2nd of June 2006.
On Friday 31st of March,
2006, the Myer store located in
Carlingford Court (NSW) closed and will be replaced with a
Target store. [
1]
On Friday 21st of July,
2006, it was announced that the Myer store located in
Westfield Burwood will have it's lease taken over by retailer
David Jones which will open it's doors for trade in April
2007.
David Jones will pay Myer a $20 Millon AUD handover fee for the store. [
2]
*
Grace Bros.*
Myer's home page
