Harris Scarfe lifts Queensland presence and launches fashion range

HARRIS Scarfe has declared the traditional department store is not dead with the 167-year-old retailer renewing a push into Queensland.

Gay Phillips shopping at Harris Scarfe in Carindale. Picture: Jono Searle

HARRIS Scarfe has declared the traditional department store is not dead, with the 167-year-old retailer renewing a push into the increasingly tough Queensland market.

The Melbourne-based company opened a Cairns store in May, bringing to five the number of outlets in a state where it is less well known than David Jones and Myer.

Harris Scarfe general manager of marketing Simon Burrett said the company was beefing up advertising in Queensland and would consider new outlets in the state if the opportunity arose.

Harris Scarfe, founded in Adelaide in 1849, has launched a new fashion range in conjunction with UK high street retailer Debenhams as it moves to lift its profile in an increasingly competitive market.

Mr Burrett said there was still a place for a department store that had old-fashioned “sales” and good service. The optimism comes despite rival Myer closing stores amid tougher competition from internet sales and discount chains such as Kmart and Target.

“We probably place ourselves somewhere between Target and Myer,” Mr Burrett said. “We are a real department store in that we have separate departments – fashion, homewares, manchester – but we operate on a smaller scale.”

The retailer has 55 outlets in Australia. Mr Burrett said a typical Harris Scarfe customer was a woman who “loved to shop and loved a bargain”.

Harris Scarfe stores are typically located in aspirational suburbs targeting homemakers looking for everything from fashion to saucepans.

Pepkor, a South African private equity house which also owns discount retailer Best & Less, purchased Harris Scarfe in 2012 for an undisclosed price.

Last year, the company introduced a new logo, opened new stores and updated older ones.