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Myer + Weight Watchers: a retail recipe for success?

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Dr Con Stavros is a senior lecturer at the school of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University.

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When Wesfarmers wanted to buy my Coles shares last year, my mailbox seemed to be full every second day with various bits of paraphernalia talking up the acquisition. If they walk as good as they talk I thought, the revolution in Australian grocery retailing, that many people (including myself) had predicted  was going to be a sure thing. Perhaps it’s too early to tell, but I haven’t noticed much difference.

The other older part of those retail shares used to have the Myer brand attached to them. Myer is middle Australia to perfection. It’s a unique department store given its egalitarian approach – where else will you find the blue collar labourer shopping next to the society matron – and its stubborn refusal to bow to the critics who seem to regularly suggest it is going the way of the dinosaur.

These days Myer survives for reasons I am not quite sure of.

Perhaps you are?

The move to young designer fashion hasn't hurt and the constant 'sale' mentality must be encouraging shoppers to at least put the store down for the occasional visit. The latest news that I caught a sneak peek of this week certainly suggests that the old retailer still has a few tricks up its sleeve. For at least a trial period some Myer stores will now feature Weight Watchers centres.

What they are terming a "world-first retail concept" will involve the Knox City (Melbourne) and Roselands (Sydney) Myer outlets sharing retail space with what is, almost unarguably, the leading brand worldwide in the weight loss category. A publicly listed company in the United States, Weight Watchers has been an admirable brand in many marketing respects. Not only did they convince Fergie (the royal, not the rapper) to be a spokesperson, but they also introduced that super-neat 'count the points' system to simply measure your daily food intake.

That was pure marketing genius.

My bet is that Weight Watchers are on to a winner. By demystifying weight loss, by bringing it right into the heart of a traditional retailer, by focusing on convenience, they are going where their customers are and breaking down the social barriers that may prevent some consumers from seeking their services.

For Myer too it seems a great move. Nobody knows the value of retail space better than a department store. For many years they anchored the shopping centre while the competitors arrived and, in some categories at least, proceeded to make department stores less relevant.

With their large, prime spaces perhaps the best way department stores can hit back is to become a mini-shopping centre in themselves?

1 Comments

MissingAuthor
  • Wrote on 13 May, at 10:03AM
I find the Myer retail spaces simply unpleasant to be in, something in their store layout just turns me off. 6 or 7 years ago I was living on the Gold Coast while Daimaru still had a store there, they had plenty of space and good choices whereas the Myer directly opposite crammed as much as they could into the area they had; it was a gross juxtaposition between shopping being an experience for a consumer and floor space being something that should never be seen where an extra rack could be shoved in.

If they thought a little bit more about their layout I'd be much more likely to frequent them, as it is now their stores leave me feeling claustrophobic, so I avoid them full stop.

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