Myer need to learn some lessons from the resurrection of Kmart. Its time to change direction and marketing and work out who their customers are and how to best reach them.
I would like to see them focus on products which give them an edge - giftware, homeware, brand name clothing and accessories, small home appliances. These are their strengths. These are items I wont buy online, I want to see them before I buy.
Trying to sell TV's and computers, large furniture items etc means competing against the buying power of businesses that make this their niche, and online retailers that force prices down. Myer cant compete in this space, its time to give them away and use the floor space for what is turning over more and what people go to Myer to buy.
The online presence and increase I think is sustainable, and I cant help wonder what Mr Lew could bring from a freight distribution perspective to leverage off this.
The return of shareholder discounts, and I mean meaningful discounts, would help a lot and an overhaul of the rewards program would give them an edge as well.
Watching with interest, so tempting to buy today, just not sure the pain is over yet as rationalisation of the business will take a bit of time and a bit of money, but surely the potential returns are there.
MYR Price at posting:
44.8¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
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