Company Reports

We intend to drop coverage of Myer on or around Aug. 6, 2026.

We intend to drop coverage of Myer on or around Aug. 6, 2026. We provide analyst research and ratings on over 1,600 companies globally and more than 200 companies in Australia and New Zealand, and periodically adjust our coverage according to investor interest and staffing.

Myer's first-half fiscal 2026 sales were up 2%, after adjusting for the acquisition of five apparel brands from Premier Investments. Despite the slight sales uplift, underlying net profit after tax fell by 17%, driven by lower gross margins and greater development costs.

Myer targets the middle market, selling mostly apparel items in competition with department store David Jones and other fashion retailers.

Myer is holding onto the uplift in sales momentum seen early in fiscal 2026. In the first 19 weeks, pro forma group sales are up 3% on last year. This compares with 2% pro forma sales growth in the second half of fiscal 2025. Homewares and womenswear are driving growth. Shares jumped 10%.

Myer's fiscal 2025 underlying net profit after tax dropped 30%. The decrease is startling, considering the 12% sales increase, mostly underpinned by newly acquired apparel brands. Australian demand for apparel is soft, and fashion retailers are discounting more. Costs also rose faster than sales.

Myer targets the middle market, selling mostly apparel items in competition with department store David Jones and other fashion retailers.

Household incomes are growing in real terms after a period of rampant inflation. With inflation back within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target range, the focus is shifting to keeping the job market in good shape. Monetary settings are slightly restrictive, providing room for more easing.

Myer is relaunching its Myer one loyalty program and extending it to customers of its recently acquired apparel brands. The relaunch, due in early fiscal 2026, includes a shoppable app, faster redemption of loyalty rewards, and a more appealing tier structure for the 4.6 million active members.

Tariffs are softening Australian consumer sentiment and investors are preferring defensive over cyclical retailers. Since sweeping US tariffs were announced April 2, our Morningstar Australia Consumer Defensive Index is up 3%, but the Morningstar Australia Consumer Cyclical Index is flat.

Myer's first half was broadly in line with its recent trading update. Sales of AUD 1.8 billion were flat year on year, while underlying profit before borrowing costs and taxes was down 22% to AUD 59 million. Without temporary supply chain issues, profit would have decreased merely 7%.

Myer targets the middle market, selling mostly apparel items in competition with department store David Jones and other fashion retailers.

Premier Investments has distributed all Myer shares it owned to its shareholders, with an in-specie distribution of about 7.2 Myer shares for each Premier share. Following the distribution, Premier shareholders will collectively own about two-thirds of Myer's outstanding shares directly.

Myer targets the middle market, selling mostly apparel items in competition with department store David Jones and other fashion retailers.

Myer and Premier propose merging five of Premier's apparel brands with Myer's department stores. Subject to conditions, including approval from both Myer and Premier shareholders, the deal transforms Myer into a discretionary retailing juggernaut with annual sales of more than AUD 4 billion.

Retail spending is rebounding due to a larger workforce, higher wages, and meaningful fiscal stimulus. Discretionary categories are benefiting more than defensives from rising household incomes.

After months of due diligence, Myer and Premier Investments have a binding agreement to create an Australian apparel retailing juggernaut. The structure is complex, including issuance of new shares, cash payment, dividends, cost savings, and a franking credit distribution.

Myer targets the middle to upper market, selling exclusive brands in competition with department store David Jones. The five largest Australian department stores share virtually the whole of the department store sector between them. While Myer, with a market share of around 15%, and key competitor David Jones (around 10%) operate at the upper end of the market, they also compete to an extent with the discount department stores operated by Wesfarmers (around 50%) and Woolworths (around 25%).

Trading momentum for nonessential goods is picking up. So far in fiscal 2025, sales growth is improving at Super Retail’s chains and Woolworths’ Big W discount department stores, as well as at electronics goods retailers JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, and Kogan.

No-moat Myer’s underlying net profit after tax of AUD 53 million in fiscal 2024 was within its guidance range. However, sales growth in early 2025 has surprisingly softened. We expect tax cuts, energy rebates, higher wages, and a greater number of employed Australians to underpin a near-term recovery in retail sales in fiscal 2025. While the Australian discount department store sector has, on average, seen better trading conditions in the months of July and August, Myer’s sales momentum is weakening. In the first seven weeks of fiscal 2025, Myer’s comparable sales growth was flat on the previous corresponding period, or PCP. In the second half of fiscal 2024, its department stores had posted a 1% increase in comparable sales on the PCP.