MYawn

God, I'd love to get my hands on Myer!
(or DJs for that matter, but I happened to be in Myer yesterday so today it's the subject of my post).
I've only been in a few of the Myer Stores - Chatswood, Top Ryde, McQuarie, Bondi Junction and Pitt Street, so forgive me Myer if there is an astonishing beacon of retail excellence I have yet to discover.
With the possible exception of Bondi the same feeling grips me whenever I walk into a Myer store - a feeling of mild depression and lethargy.
I do realise, by the way, that if I have the desire to ever work with Myer in my lifetime, this may not be the best way to go about it, but I'm not blessed with the ability to keep my opinions to myself when it comes to The Shops, so here goes...
I've often thought that the name 'Myer' sounds a bit like a yawn - or maybe that's just how I'm feeling when I say it.
Either way, yawn is exactly what I did as I wandered into the Pitt Street store and felt my spirits dampen despite the bright and sunny day outside.
The Cosmetics hall is overwhelmingly dreary and oppressive, so I quickly 'escaped' to - oh! An equally claustrophobic mezzanine floor, albeit surrounded by admittedly beautiful lingerie. Convinced that (as any good retail bible would dictate) from here, I would be simultaneously guided and enticed through the store to ever more exciting departments and products. I pressed on through rack after rack of laciness before realising I had repeated two and a half circuits of this seemingly inexitable lingerie roundabout.
I'm exaggerating (only slightly) to make a point, but you get the picture. I'm aware that I may also be displaying characteristics of someone of limited intelligence, but this dim-witted state I seem to descend into is simply the effect the place has on me.
Eventually I gratefully seized a 'friendly' shop assistant and asked how on earth I could make the jouney to the first floor. "Back down the stairs and up the escalator", she practically sneered. She might have added 'stupid!'
I obediently followed instructions and proceeded to a dismal huddle of escalators in a dim and pointless atrium that does nothing to tempt you on to investigate other floors with any glimpse of what treasures may be disclosed - nor does it do what atriums do best - let in a load of uplifting and illuminating natural daylight.
Anyway, in a striking turn of events, I was greeted at the top of the escalator with a sleek and stunning visual presentation of Sass & Bide and another brand I'm not familiar with. Both looked slick, spacious and exciting.
WOW! I thought, fully prepared to be converted into a lifelong Myer fan. I don't mean to be cynical, you see. I love retail, I especially love department stores, I want to love Myer.
But sadly, it all became rather more mundane after that promising intro to the fashion floor. Myer's purchase and subsequent insertion of Sass & Bide has clearly added some sparkle to the store, but it now makes everything else look all the more dull.
I may be wrong, but it seems like a combination of two extremes here. Concession based brands, taking space and creating their own image within it, next to smaller brands assigned to identical, bland house fixtures. Myer (and other retailers of brands) really need to take control of their own identity and ownership of the brands they carry, whose retail and visual expertise will vary greatly. They don't need to be a slave to the bigger brands, who simply transplant their own concept into the store - and they need to do justice to the smaller brands, to really showcase their offer, making Myer a 'must outlet' for boutique labels and in turn a fashion destination for the women of Australia.
The art of presenting such an emporium is the creation of ultimate harmony. A dynamic, arresting, harmonious blend of the House Identity and the brands & designers it is home to. The result should be seamless, preserving the individuality of each brand without compromising the integrity of the store's own distinctive image. Not easy, but most definitely achievable.
A department store has the power to captivate and hold its audience for extended periods of time due to its variety, excitement, originality and continual innovation.
I really do apologise for the inevitable comparison, but I could easily lose a whole day in Selfridges or Liberty, and be delighted with every visit at what they have created for my enjoyment. These two retailers both do it brilliantly, but with completely different styles.
What is Myer's style? What is its point of difference, I wonder? Exclusive brand/designers and collaborations? Maybe... THEN TELL US ABOUT IT! - I MEAN REALLY TELL US.
As a shopper, I would have no idea which collections are exclusive to Myer - If I can't buy it anywhere else, that's a really big deal and should be made very obvious. Use it, drive it, grab attention with it, tell us we can't live without it and show us why.
Continue to bring us things we can't find anywhere but Myer, seduce us with stylish eateries & bars, interact with us, show us what's new / fabulous / hot / emerging, show us your finger is on the pulse - in the fashion thick of it. DEMAND OUR ATTENTION!
Come on Myer - we want to be dazzled and you have the power to do it!