Myer has been forced to cut 100 staff in order to continue viable operation in what has been described as the toughest conditions the retail sector has experienced in over 25 years.
According to the company, it undertook a major review of all support function expenditure, including services provided, marketing and events, IT, HR, merchandise and supply chain, which led to the redundancy of 100 roles so the company could rebase its cost structure “to align to the operating conditions we face”.
“While these decisions are never easy, they are prudent and necessary to ensure our business is attuned to our operating environment,” Myer CEO Bernie Brookes said.
“We regret the impact on those team members affected and have provided assistance to them in terms of severance payments and support for job transition.”
The company says costs to businesses are increasing significantly due to higher occupancy costs, higher wage costs, and the inflation of other outgoings including utility charges, as a result it the review was prudent in order for “the business to maximise the flexibility of operations for the future”.
At the same time, Myer highlighted its investment in customer service, the development of its brands and omni-channel strategy are quarantined from the impact of the review.
“We have determined a support structure that will take the business forward and underpin our investment in our core offer, including continuing the investment to improve customer service, enhancing our merchandise offer, our loyalty program, delivering our omni-channel offer and optimising our store network,” Brookes said.