- Myer’s (MYR) share price continues to be battered by COVID-19, with new restrictions meaning all of its Melbourne stores have to be shut again
- Myer closed all of its stores in late March, leaving around 10,000 people without work, before re-opening some stores two months later
- But following the Victorian Government’s stage-four lockdown announcement, all non-essential stores, like Myer, will have to close again
- There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Myer’s future, as the company is yet to issue an update to shareholders on its current financial position
- Shares in the retailer are trading for 19.3 cents, down 1.28 per cent today
Myer’s (MYR) share price has dropped even further, as shareholders appear to grow nervous about the retailer’s ability to handle another COVID-19 shutdown.
Non-essential shops close
The company’s Melbourne stores will close for a second time this week, after the Victorian Government announced sweeping new stage-four restrictions.
Melbourne entered a hard lockdown at the weekend in a bid to curb the growing number of coronavirus cases being recorded there.
To date, more than 12,000 cases have been recorded in Victoria and 162 deaths.
Amongst the new restrictions was a call for all non-essential stores to close in Melbourne, with only grocery stores and pharmacies allowed to stay open. Cafes and restaurants can remain trading, but only for pick-up and delivery orders.
The decision to close all non-essential shops is a big blow for Myer, who previously closed all of its stores across Australia in late March, leaving around 10,000 staff without work.
It began reopening its shops in May – but now it will have to close all of its Melbourne metro stores for a second time this year.
Of course, Myer isn’t the only ASX-listed retailer to be affected by the Victorian Government’s new restrictions, both Wesfarmers and JB Hifi will also close all of their Melbourne stores.
However, they will remain open for online trade and Bunnings and Officeworks will be allowed to serve business and trade customers in-store after Wesfarmer’s successfully argued the two brands are essential.
Update pending?
It’s assumed Myer will adopt a similar approach, and keep its online store running, allowing customers to shop there.
However, the company is yet to put out an update about the new Melbourne stores closures, or even its plans for the stage-four restrictions.
The last ASX announcement from Myer came at the end of June, while its last COVID-19 update was released on May 22.
The company’s last financial update – it’s half-yearly results – were released in March and the company is expected to provide its second-half results in September.
That much-awaited report will finally set-out exactly how much the COVID-19 shutdowns have affected the company’s bottom line.
Share price stumble
Shares in Myer had begun recovering from the initial blow caused by COVID-19 in March, with the entire ASX finally bottoming-out on March 23, after weeks of pandemic related uncertainty.
Since then Myer’s share price has slowly rallied, boosted by the store re-openings announced in late May.
The good news hasn’t lasted though, with the share price closing down or steady every day since the new Melbourne shopping restrictions were announced on August 2.
Myer share’s closed today, August 5, down 1.28 per cent, at 19.3 cents per share.