Myer chief executive Richard Umbers is sticking to his turnaround strategy and his forecast for a return to profit growth this year despite a slump in sales during the holiday period.

Mr Umbers is confident Myer can still deliver profit growth this year – for the first year since 2010 – even if sales go backwards, saying Australia's largest department store has "plenty of levers to pull" to achieve ambitious targets laid down in 2015.