Myer is in the middle of a major reset after buying the Apparel Brands group from a rival retailer, bringing labels such as Just Jeans, Dotti, Jay Jays, Portmans and Jacqui E into its orbit. The department store group, which already runs hundreds of outlets nationwide, is trying to pull these brands into a single operating model at a time when shoppers are more cautious and global department stores are under pressure.
As part of this shift, around 40 management jobs are being removed across the Apparel Brands network, which spans about 700 stores in Australia and New Zealand. The cuts follow a separate voluntary redundancy program across Myer department stores last year that saw about 300 people leave. Retail insiders see a risk that trimming brand specific leadership weakens each label’s identity, but Myer argues that a leaner, state based structure will reduce duplication, cut travel and sharpen the focus on growth, sales and team development. Under the new model, each state has its own general manager who oversees all Apparel Brands outlets in that region and reports into a single group head.
This restructuring sits alongside broader moves to modernise the business. Myer is bedding down its revamped loyalty program, which now has more than 4.7 million active members and added over 800,000 new users in the last financial year, many under 35. It has also extended this program across the newly acquired brands. The company is refreshing key categories such as beauty, adding new fashion labels, relaunching its online marketplace and leaning into higher margin areas like baby products. The strategy seems to be lifting the top line modestly, with group sales up about 3% to $1.52 billion in the first 19 weeks of the 2026 year, although Apparel Brands sales are only edging ahead at 1.3%. This comes against a backdrop of softer consumer demand, intense online competition and high profile international department store failures.
The bigger question is whether these job cuts and structural changes set Myer up for a sustained recovery or simply buy time in a tough market. The retailer looks like it is trading short term pain, including lost roles, cultural disruption and a share price that has dropped more than 50% over the year, for the chance to build a more efficient, data driven business anchored by loyalty and category growth. If the strategy works, the integration of Apparel Brands could become a template for how legacy retailers reshape themselves. If sales momentum stalls, the loss of brand level leadership may be seen as a step too far.
