Myer’s sale builds on new and old traditions
MYER boss Richard Umbers knows the stocktake sale sweet spot lies somewhere between newness and tradition.
As the new chief executive marks his first festive season at the helm of the department store, he has found moving forward sometimes involves looking back.
“We are working with the idea of ‘modern heritage’,” Mr Umbers said. “It means holdovernight, ing on the things that are important to our customers, but at the same time we have to stay contemporary.
“The Boxing Day stocktake sale is part of the Christmas tradition, just like the Myer windows.
“But we are re-energising and reinvigorating the business and creating a sense of newness and interest, and there’s nothing like a stocktake sale for that.”
Mr Umbers said the 17 million bargain hunters expected nationwide between Boxing Day and January 26 would enjoy sales on a string of new brands introduced to Myer during the year.
And he said discounts of up to 70 per cent on some items were designed to clear muchneeded space for fresh products to hit the floor in February.
“From a practical point of view, we need the space,” Mr Umbers said.
The department store will also build on its latest tradition of starting the sale for earlybirds online on Christmas Day.
It came under fire two years ago when the website crashed under the mountain of bargain hunters, but there was no repeat last year as improved technology held its ground.
Mr Umbers said the group had full confidence in its site this year, but to prevent a spike in traffic, offers will become available at staggered intervals tomorrow. By Boxing Day, all online offers will be available, with more than 660,000 customers expected to visit the site that day.
“Boxing Day will be the busiest online day in Myer’s history,” Mr Umbers said.
For diehard traditionalists, nothing beats being among the first in line when the bricks and mortar stores open and 1.6 million customers are expected to visit a Myer store on the first day of the stocktake sale.