Myer once stood for the aspirational middle class, but now it’s lost sight of who its customers are
In this crossposting from The Conversation, Swinburne University of Technology’s Sean Sanda looks at how Myer’s brand identity has slowly chipped away over time.
A big part of retail group Myer’s problem is that it has tried to be all things, to all customers. Myer has tried to hang on to its high-end customers of old, while trying appeal to value-conscious, bargain oriented customers who only shop on sale.
Its place in the marketplace, and in the mind of the consumer, remains unclear. This week, after consecutive write-downs, the share price continues its downward plummet and sits around 54 cents (not far off a tenth of its original share float value of $4.10). The Myer board then dumped its chief executive this week, citing the need for urgent action to stop a fall in sales and earnings.
Myer’s place in the marketplace, and in the mind of the consumer, remains unclear. KERI MEGELUS/AAP
For centuries, department stores have ruled retail, and in Australia retail was ruled by Myer and David Jones. From the 1800s these stores linked Australians to the world, giving Australians a taste of high fashion and exposing shoppers to luxury brands not present on Australian shores.
Great article. Myer’s lack of clarity is also highlighted by its incredibly bland advertising. There is no point of difference highlighting, incredibly flatlined media presence and a descent into “Sale,Sale” desperation. As rightly pointed out, Myer as a brand fails to exist. The tragic fallout to the Advertising industry is enormous. The huge and vigorous in-house retail advertising department provided a training ground for generations of Australians. In turn, they took a high standard into other retail arenas and helped maintain retail Advertising with substance. Agencies were able to rely on steady budgets from incorporated brands. And major agencies with a large and solid Myer media spend could hire well. In a small country, Myer was a backbone to many copywriters, artists and brand managers training. Small brands could grow and provide constant work for likewise smaller agencies. The arrogance of the Myer board in ignoring the widespread effect Myer has on many sectors of Australia’s economy shows inward vision indeed.
There is something wrong with Myer’s strategies if they alienate the Myer customer. The company is following in the footsteps of Gowings, which tried to broaden its appeal and only succeeded in alienating its traditional customers. Today its sign is still there in George Street but the business is long gone. I can date my disaffection from seeing a large display of music in the City store under the heading “Urban”, which proved to be exclusively from black ghettos in the United States. The classical music I had bought from Myer when it was Grace Bros was on the outer, if it was there at all. I haven’t been back for years.
If Mark Ritson was advising would love to hear his thoughts.
Myer’s problems go much, much deeper than brand and marketing.
You cannot pin this entirely on marketing. The Myer, and DJ’s shopping experience just doesn’t deliver satisfaction anymore. The stores are tired from years of wear and tear without any serious investment in renovation, apart from co-op funding by cosmetics.
25 years ago a trip to Myer or DJ’s was an outing that was full spectacle, glamour and desire from the bottom floor to the top. Perfectly groomed shop assistants eager to help and talk with wonderful visual merchandising throughout the store enticing customers. Now, unfortunately the exact same racks barely stand upright in large rooms void of any real personality, lined around the edges with tired shelving. The staff which one can only describe now as pedestrian are scattered thinly, looking like they are dressed for the Woolworths checkout, and have no interest other than take your card and shove your purchase into a bag. It’s a sad display overall.
There problem is also that there is no longer an aspirational middle class. Squeezed by the government, this audience is now seeking value more than ever, and has realised that you can buy the same for less, from other places, be that bricks and mortar or online.
With no customer base, who’s marketing supposed to win over?
Understanding your customer and their experience and aligning your brand to your customer and ensuring all parts of your business do so too is now the key strategy for successful retailers.
Take a look at Karen Millen in the UK and see how they have moved from traditional season launches to aligning their brand and proposition intimately with their customers. They are not trying to be everything to everyone but being laser focused on their customer and their needs.
For more insight
http://www.thedrum.com/news/20.....l-strategy
Well not really. Myer and DJs appealed principally to young, high spending women, usually of a working class income, who were looking for stuff like perfume, make up, fashion and homewares.
Myer has been going backwards steadily since they decided to become a stuffy frock salon for north shore matrons.