Omicron is impacting Myer's sales post-Christmas, the department store has revealed in a trading update.
While recording strong results during the festive period, Myer CEO John King said the Omicron variant is impacting sales now.
"Whilst we are seeing Omicron impact sales post-Christmas, we will continue to focus on growing our strong online business, ongoing engagement across our Myer One program and disciplined management of costs and inventory," he said.
In the five months to January 1, Myer reports total sales were up 12.3% compared to the prior corresponding period (PCP), despite losing 27% of department store trading days during COVID lockdowns.
Department store sales in the lead up to Christmas also proved strong for Myer, with the business reporting a 17.1% lift on the PCP for the two months ended January 1.
Meanwhile, the retailer's online sales also delivered positive performance in the period, with Myer reporting a 54.3% increase on the PCP.
During the five-month period, Myer's online sales made up 27.7% of total sales.
"The results demonstrate the continued momentum of our Customer First Plan and the resilience of the business to overcome the initial months of lockdowns and still record significant sales growth during this period," King added.
Myer did not provide an estimate of its EBITDA but stated that the improved operating gross profit has been offset by higher costs of doing business primarily due to the absence of JobKeeper that was received in the PCP.
Myer is set to share its interim results in early March.