Myer's $280m writedown: what the tech spend shows

All figures are from Myer Group's FY26 results announcement and presentation (52 weeks ended 25 July 2026, released 23 September 2026) unless stated otherwise.

Who Myer is and why it matters

Myer is Australia's largest department store group and, since absorbing Premier Investments' apparel brands (Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti and Jacqui E) in early 2025, a specialty apparel operator as well. FY26 was the first full year with both businesses in the group. That makes it a useful case study for any Australian retailer weighing how much to spend on technology while the core business is under pressure: the results pair one of the largest losses in the company's history with a technology programme that is narrow, specific and mostly delivered.

What the filing says

Myer Group reported total sales of $4,088.8 million, up 11.3 per cent on an actual basis and 0.3 per cent pro forma, with comparable sales up 0.7 per cent. Underlying EBIT was $139.4 million, 7.0 per cent lower on an actual basis and 23.5 per cent lower pro forma; underlying NPAT was $42.5 million. The statutory result was a net loss of $276.5 million after a one-off, non-cash, post-tax impairment of $279.6 million across goodwill, brand intangibles and stores. Pre-tax, the presentation shows $283.1 million of goodwill and intangible asset impairments and $71.0 million of store impairment. Operating gross margin was 39.2 per cent and cost of doing business was $1,189.7 million, or 29.1 per cent of sales. Net cash at 25 July 2026 was $100.1 million, and no final dividend was declared.

The technology line in the filing is small relative to those numbers. Net capital expenditure for FY26 was $50 million: $20 million on stores, $25 million on online and systems, $7 million on other items including supply chain initiatives, less $3 million of landlord contributions. Half of the group's investment dollars therefore went to online and systems in a year when it wrote down almost $280 million of asset value.

Online growth is reported on two bases. Myer Retail's online sales rose 4.2 per cent, "aided by 5.8% increase in Marketplace", while the group reports online channel growth of 9.1 per cent. The FY26 presentation does not give an online penetration figure. The most recent the company has published is from its 19 November 2025 release, in which executive chair Olivia Wirth said online sales "now make up almost a quarter of all Group sales".

What Myer has actually shipped

Marketplace replatform (June 2026). In November 2025 Myer announced it would move its marketplace to Mirakl, noting that marketplace sales grew 41 per cent in FY25 and that 50 per cent of marketplace baskets included Myer-stocked products; the transition was expected to complete in the first half of 2026. The FY26 presentation confirms Myer "launched new Myer Marketplace platform in June offering new products and more brands".

Retail media network (July 2026). The results state that Myer "launched Retail Media business, powered by MYER one retail media platform". Trade press coverage of the 16 July launch names it the Myer Media Network, spanning onsite digital, physical and CRM channels, with onsite advertising run through Mirakl Ads and a general manager of retail media, Michael Sharlassian, hired from Coles 360. Revenue for the network is not disclosed.

Shoppable app. The presentation lists a relaunched shoppable app among FY26 deliverables; it does not give a launch date or usage figures.

Loyalty data. MYER one reached 5.3 million members, up from 4.7 million, with a tag rate of 81.5 per cent in Myer Retail (79.5 per cent a year earlier) and 55.1 per cent in Myer Apparel Brands within 12 months of the programme's extension to those stores. Among FY27 priorities the company lists "Embed enhanced MYER one automation capability" and "Expand loyalty partnerships".

Supply chain. Myer "continued to progress the Proof-of-Concept Stage at the National Distribution Centre (NDC) to mitigate execution risk for long-term solution", and "Deliver NDC proof-of-concept" is again on the FY27 list.

What the hiring says

Myer's recruitment is not currently technology-heavy. As at 25 September 2026 its careers site showed one open support-office listing each in the Digital/Online, Information Technology and Supply Chain categories. The most visible technology-adjacent hire of the year was the retail media general manager. Read alongside the capex split, the signal is a business adding commercial capability on top of platforms it buys, such as Mirakl for marketplace and advertising, rather than building large in-house engineering teams.

Say versus do

On the evidence in the filing, most of what Myer said it would do in technology it has done. The marketplace moved to Mirakl on the timetable given in November 2025, the retail media business launched, and the loyalty base grew and became more measurable, with the tag rate the key input for retail media. The item that has not moved to delivery is the distribution centre, which is still described as a proof of concept a year on. The other gap is disclosure rather than execution: the company does not report online penetration, marketplace gross merchandise value or retail media revenue, so outsiders cannot yet judge the return on the $25 million.

The early FY27 update frames the context. In the first eight weeks, group comparable sales were up 0.2 per cent and actual sales down 2.7 per cent; Myer Retail comparable sales rose 1.8 per cent while Myer Apparel Brands fell 5.9 per cent. The FY27 target for cost of doing business is about 29 per cent of sales, so technology spend has to keep earning its place against cost discipline.

What an Australian retailer can take from it

Three things stand out. First, loyalty identification is the asset that makes the rest possible: an 81.5 per cent tag rate is what gives a retail media network something to sell, and a retailer with low identification should fix that before launching advertising. Second, marketplace is a way to extend range without inventory risk, and Myer bought the platform rather than building it. Third, a disciplined technology programme can sit alongside a large writedown. Myer's impairments relate to goodwill, brands and store assets; its technology line is modest, specific and mostly delivered. The open question for FY27 is whether the company will publish enough, on online share, marketplace volume and retail media income, for the market to see what that spend returns.