The biggest question is who are the department stores targeting. When Myer is selling Miss Shop printed t-shirts at A$24.95 while upstairs, a A$299 Wayne Cooper blouse, you have to question why it is trying to be all things, to all people. In contrast, fast-fashion chain Zara is clearly targeting cashed-up, fashion conscious twenty-somethings. The entrance of new global fashion retailers will continue to pull fashion conscious shoppers away from Myer and DJs.
Desperate discounting strategies also suggests department stores have lost sight of their core customer. Traditional department store shoppers don’t want “cheap”, they want “value”. Ultimately, deep discount price promotions should be left to “discount” department stores.
While Chanel, Cartier, Hugo Boss and others continue to open their own store fronts around major capital cities, shoppers will continue to question the need to walk through the doors of Myer or DJs to buy these brands.
Both department stores are certainly trying to catch up on their online strategies, but may have left their run a bit late. More recently, we have seen a move to replicate their half yearly, stock-take sales events online, although Myer’s December sale was an IT disaster. While the online clearance sales may seem like a good initiative, one needs to be cautious of not simply cannibalising in-store sales. And why would anyone shop online at Myer or David Jones to buy brands that have their own online stores?
I am sure readers will recall the closure of Gowings Department Store in Sydney in 2006 after nearly 140 years; Myer’s acquisitions of Grace Bros in NSW and Boans in Perth; South Australia’s John Martin & Co being sold to David Jones and the closure of Waltons Stores in 1987.
Mergers, acquisitions and closures are all too common. As external market pressures continue to grow, consumer behaviour shifts and innovative online retail channels emerge, expect to see a reshaping of the Australian retail landscape down to one dominant department store.
Gary Mortimer is a Senior Lecturer, QUT Business School at Queensland University of Technology.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.
