Department store Myer restructures to focus more on ecommerce

After a sluggish holidays shopping seasons with sales bellow the forecast, Myer has opted to downsize its staff in an effort to revive its businesses by focusing on the ecommerce market, TheNewDaily reports.

According to the above-mentioned source, in two years, Myer has vacated four-and-a-half floors, or 40%, of its office space.

Myer did not reveal the exact number of redundancies in its release, saying simply that there would be “a number of departures across the support office”.

Off to face the Amazon giant

Myer’s restructuring efforts are part of a strategy to focus on ecommerce. Ever since Amazon has launched in Australia (2017), it has eaten a large share of the retail market.

Myer’s digitalization strategy, however, sounds suspiciously familiar. In December 2017, the company launched the Myer Market, an online marketplace that allows third-party sellers to market their products through Myer in exchange for a commission on each sale.

Myer has also appointed specialist Mark Cripsey to the newly-created role of chief operating officer.
So far, these efforts have not impressed investors and Mayer’s stock is trading at 65 cents, compared to its 2010 high of USD 3.20.