No-one was mentioning the “A” word (that’s “A” for Amazon) – but the Myer retail group yesterday forecast a greater push into online and other multi-channel operations after recording a 1.4 percent drop in total sales and the closure of three major bricks-and-mortar stores. For the 12-month period, total sales at Myer were down by 1.4pc to $3.2 billion

CEO Richard Umbers was making it plain where Myer now sees its future lying: “We are building a more powerful and profitable omni-channel business and the performance of our online business was a standout of the result with sales up 41.1pc,” he said.

“Omni-channel sales, which also includes sales via our 2500 iPads in-store, reached $177 million during the year, now representing a penetration of 8.2 percent of total sales in July 2017.

“Similarly click-and-collect has grown strongly to now represent 15 percent of orders in July 2017.”

Umbers revealed that Myer is closing three major stores – at Colonnades (Adelaide), Belconnen (Canberra) and Hornsby, NSW.