Department store Myer has spoken out about the future and challenges ahead for 2013, following the shock departure of its group general manager merchandise, Judy Coomber.
The retailer, which farewelled Coomber on November 29 after six years of service, held its annual general meeting late last week.
The meet, the first attended by new chairman Paul McClintock, revealed that while “sales in the first quarter reflected a modest improvement in consumer sentiment", Myer believes that the challenging retail and economic environment continues, both in Australia and internationally.
The comments also alluded to Myer's continued frustration with the duty and GST loophole “that exists and provides overseas online retailers with an advantage over local retailers”.
“The internet has broken down traditional trade barriers and it is critical that reforms keep pace to ensure our local businesses are competitive. We appreciate the current level of interest by state governments as they seek to claim the GST revenue being lost to them as a result of online sales to overseas retailers [and] we welcomed the Federal government’s recent acknowledgement that this is a problem,” McClintock said.
“If the Federal government truly values the retail sector, the impact of increasing labour costs and uncompetitive nature of online retailing must be balanced by measures to improve productivity or flexibility. We look forward to the outcomes of the GST review, as well as the Low Import Threshold taskforce delivering reforms to ensure the retail industry can continue providing economic benefits to all Australians by remaining globally competitive.”
McClintock added that, going forward, he expects the company and its stakeholders to be focused on all areas and all issues that could impact Myer’s reputation, performance or sustainability.
He also acknowledged a number of changes made to the board in the past six months, but said people remain one of the company's core strengths, and essential to the retailer's success in the year ahead.
“I have no doubt Myer is well placed to capitalise on the strength of the trusted brand, store network, depth of offer and loyalty program to deliver a leading omni-channel offer in this new environment,” he said.
“A lot of progress has been made over the past 12 months, and there is still much more work to be done.”