The last day for shoppers will be on Sunday, April 3 as the popular store closes as part of a national rationilisation plan.
Since the Customer First Plan was launched, Myer has made strong progress in rationalising its property portfolio with the closure of Logan in January 2019, Hornsby in January 2020, Emporium in May 2020 and Knox in August 2021. Now Blacktown joins the list.
Myer CEO John King since making this decision, “we have taken into account our strengthening online sales, as well as the number of Myer stores that are in close proximity to the Blacktown store, including Castle Hill, Parramatta, Bankstown and Roselands.”
He said Myer would support all impacted team members through a period of consultation and would look to redeploy as many team members as possible.
“Today’s decision continues to deliver against our Customer First Plan and we will continue to make targeted improvements to our store network, reducing space and improving the offer for our loyal customers.
“We thank our Blacktown team members for their service and contribution to the business and our Blacktown customers for their loyalty to the store – and we trust they will continue to shop with us at our nearby stores or online,” Mr King said.
Myer plans to shrink total floor space by 20% while continuing to invest in the department store’s online offer.
Myer Blacktown opened in 1973 and is one of company’s smaller stores, employing about 30 staff.
Mr King’s turnaround strategy, launched five years ago, calls for a return to Myer as Australia’s favorite department store and a reversal of the long-term slide in performance.
A media report said Myer returned to profitability in September as total sales rose 5.5% to $2.7bn, despite widespread store closures and travel restrictions
The report said the makeover plan involved slashing costs, pulling back on discounting, ramping up online sales and reducing excess floor space by 100,000 square metres – saving $15m to $20m a year in rent – by closing stores or handing back space to landlords.
Myer is also reported to be removing underperforming brands and replacing them with more than 130 new brands.
Bendon Lingerie said its stable of brands, including its namesake label, Pleasure State, and heritage brand Fayreform, would rejoin Myer from August. The store also recently added intimates brand Simone Pérèle.
