Beleaguered department store giant Myer has issued a shock profit warning less than two weeks before Christmas, revealing that sales and profit have "deteriorated" in recent weeks, falling a staggering 5 per cent in the first two weeks of December.
Myer said last month that its first-quarter sales fell 2.1 per cent on a same-store basis and the company warned at its November 24 annual general meeting that there had been no improvement in conditions.
On Thursday, Myer said that since the AGM "sales have continued to be below expectations and reflect ongoing challenging retail conditions characterised by reduced foot traffic, widespread industry discounting and subdued consumer sentiment.
"Despite investing heavily in marketing and traffic-driving initiatives, total sales to the end of November were down 2.3 per cent and down 1.8 per cent on a comparable store sales basis.
"Sales during the first two weeks in December have weakened further and were down 5 per cent on the previous corresponding period."
