Latest news with #SolomonLew
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Sidney Myer's grandson urges retail giant to refurbish Bendigo store
As the Myer retail chain faces a major shake-up under businessman Solomon Lew, residents in the regional city where Myer was born have called on the company to give its original store some love. Australia's first Myer department store opened in Bendigo's Pall Mall 125 years ago, in 1900, 11 years before the doors swung open at its flagship Melbourne Bourke Street base. It was the launch pad for what has become one of Australia's most recognised brands, with 56 stores across the country. But step inside the Bendigo Myer store and it is easy to see why rumours about its future are circling around town. Peeling linoleum floors are patched up with duct tape, and plaster crumbles from the walls. Bendigo Historical Society former president Jim Evans said residents had always been proud of Myer's presence in town, but the facade of the historic building was falling apart, and the interior had also seen better days. "Bendigonians are appalled at the state of the building," Mr Evans said. "It's an iconic building and it's certainly something that would attract attention from all over the world." Jane Symonds, 74, has shopped at the Bendigo Myer store since the 1980s and said it used to be a mecca of high-end local retail. "Everything needs to be refreshed … they need to refurbish it, make it brighter, newer," she said. "We need a big, quality department store like that in Bendigo because we've got bugger all." Sidney Myer's grandson Andrew Myer, who is also the chair of the philanthropic Sidney Myer Fund, believes the Bendigo building should be restored to its former glory rather than sit in disrepair. "I think it is a cornerstone building," he told the ABC. "As a passionate family member and knowing that it is the first store, I would love Myer, particularly the CEO [Olivia Wirth], to take some personal interest in the refurbishment of the store." The philanthropist said the state of the Bendigo store was a matter for the board and management, and he believed other family members had raised the issue personally with the Myer Group. The ABC understands the Bendigo store's elevator has recently been upgraded and plans are in place to replace the roof. A Myer spokesperson acknowledged Mr Myer's feedback and said a review of all stores was underway. "We have a constant program of maintenance works across our store network, which includes Myer Bendigo. "Myer owns the Bendigo store and there are no changes to our operations." Bendigo's Chamber of Commerce Be Bendigo chief executive Hayley Tibbett said she had contacted the Myer Bendigo manager, but had not received a response. "We all [the Bendigo community] feel a passion for Myer," she said. Sidney Myer, born Simcha Myer Baevski, was a Russian Jewish immigrant who arrived in Melbourne in 1899. He opened a small drapery shop in Bendigo with his brother Elcon in 1900, which went on to become Myer and now extends to Hargreaves Mall. The brothers prospered in central Victoria and opened another Myer store in Bendigo in 1908. In 1911, Sidney Myer bought a drapery store in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which is where the Myer Emporium flagship store still stands today. The National Library of Australia holds newspaper records showing that in the 1930s at the height of the Great Depression, Mr Myer arranged to provide Christmas dinner for 10,000 people mostly from poorer families in Melbourne. At the time, the Brisbane Courier reported that Mr Myer said he did not want the sense of charity to enter into the project, but rather for the people to feel like his personal guests to whom he wished to give a memorable Christmas. The legacy of his philanthropy continues through the Sidney Myer Fund and The Myer Foundation.
West Australian
22-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Mixed bag for department store chain Myer as new Apparel Brands disappoints
Myer has posted a mixed trading update, with a better performance from its chain of department store but a big drop in sales from its newly acquired Apparel Brands fashion portfolio. The portfolio — which includes shopping mall mainstays Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Dotti, Jacqui E and Portmans — was picked up by Myer from Solomon Lew's Premier Investments late last year in a deal worth almost $900 million. But it has been a rough few months for Apparel Brand under new management, with Myer reporting on Friday that sales of $211.2 million across the stores in the first 16 weeks of the second half of the financial year were down $8.3m, or almost 4 per cent, on the same period a year earlier. Comparable sales were off 3.7 per cent and online sales tumbled 3.5 per cent, making up 16.8 per cent of sales. It was a different story at Myer, which notched up total sales over the period of $837.2m, up 1.9 per cent on a year earlier. Comparable sales rose 1.5 per cent and online sales rocketed 9 per cent, and now represent 21.4 per cent of total sales. Myer said second-half sales so far had been hit by a number of market-wide and company-specific factors. These included margin pressure because of higher promotional activity across the retail sector as business try to lure in shoppers keeping a closer eye on their budgets and increased costs of doing business, particularly wages and property costs impacted by inflation. Unfavourable foreign exchange movements also affected the results. Myer Group executive chair Olivia Wirth said challenging trading conditions had been exacerbated by a subdued retail environment in the lead-up to the Federal election earlier this month. 'Consumers remain cautious and focused on value in response to cost-of-living pressures and the current macroeconomic headwinds and uncertainty,' Ms Wirth said. 'This has resulted in volatile trading conditions with widespread promotional activity across the retail sector. 'We remain focused on resetting the business and implementing our strategic growth plan to position Myer Group as an omni-channel retail platform capable of delivering growth during all phases of the economic cycle.' The ramp up of Myer's new national distribution centre in Ravenhall in Victoria had also caused headaches for the retailer, noting automation and integration issues had forced it to bring in a third-party logistics operation ahead of the next peak trading period.
