Australian department store chain Myer Holdings is set to close three stores due to declining profits and sales in order to consolidate its business operations.
For the year ending 29 July, the company recorded net profits after tax (NPAT) of A$11.9m ($9.51m), which represents an 80% decrease over the last year.
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The store closures will take place in Colonnades, Belconnen and Hornsby.
The company witnessed a 1.4% drop in sales to A$3.2bn ($2.55bn), while its comparable store sales fell by 0.2%.
In 2015, the company rolled out ‘New Myer’ strategy that included in excess of A$600m ($479.87m) investment in capital and implementation costs over a five-year period to enhance productivity and omnichannel capability.
Since then, the retailer has closed or announced the closure of 74,670m² of store space, including its recent closures at Wollongong, Brookside and Orange.
Myer Holdings CEO and managing director Richard Umbers said: “We have made significant progress to deliver New Myer, which has assisted the company to withstand the challenging retail trading conditions characterised by heightened competition, subdued consumer sentiment and discount fatigue.
“In the year ahead, we will be rolling out further initiatives particularly in our strongly performing omnichannel business in anticipation of a further wave of change in consumer and competitor behaviour.”
The company attributed the weak performance to the write-down of its 20% stake in Australia, as well as an impairment charge of A$38.8m ($31.03m) against its Sass & Bide division.
Meanwhile, the company noted that it will continue to focus on building an omnichannel business, which registered a 41% sales increase.
