Myer Centre Brisbane: 90pc off, stripped shelves on store’s last day

There were chaotic scenes as Myer’s flagship Brisbane store prepared to close its doors on 35 years of history. SEE PICS

Myer’s flagship Brisbane CBD store is stripped on its last day of trading. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Shelves have been stripped bare at Myer’s flagship Brisbane CBD as it prepares to close its doors for the last time on Monday.

A massive weekend clearance sale, with items as low as $1 or $2, was due to end when the store closed at 6pm.

Inside the Myer store on its last day of trading on Monday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

The store has been the anchor tenant since its namesake Myer Centre opened in 1988, but a dispute with landlords earlier this year sparked the retail giant’s withdrawal from the landmark location.

The Courier-Mail joined hundreds of shoppers as they piled through the Myer Centre’s iconic facade to snag a last-chance bargain.

Pics: Myer Brisbane cleaned out on last day

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Women’s and men’s apparel, cosmetics, homewares and children’s toys were all up to 90 per cent off.

Mannequins were armless, beds were stripped and shelves were bare as Brisbanites bade farewell to the store, with some customers described as “vultures” by other shoppers.

Customers lined up for over an hour to bag their purchases with only one cashier on each floor.

Customers stripped the shelves bare on Monday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Individual traders including Mecca, M.J. Bale and Johnny Bigg were the only aisles not to be stripped by bargain-hungry hustlers, some of whom took the day off to peruse the store.

Self-confessed shopaholics Aly Leech and Vinaya Kandasamy reminisced on what the Myer Centre was to Queen Street Mall.

“I remember coming here as a teenager on a Friday night and it being so exciting, it will be sad to see it go,” Ms Leech said.

Aly Leech who travelled from the Sunshine Coast and friend Vinaya Kandasamy. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

“My son is 21 now and I used to take him here so he could ride the rollercoaster on the top level, it isn’t what it used to be,” Ms Kandasamy said.

Former Myer Centre workers Nicole Anne Ho and Rhea Sorensen said they returned to their old store to say goodbye after an impressive 20 years served between the pair.

“It was really hard to come back, I knew I had to, otherwise I would be sad,” Ms Ho said.

“It isn’t the usual shoppers in today, the place has been stripped. I never think of things ending so I am excited to see what comes here next.”

A crowd looking for bargains on Myer’s last trading day in the Queen St Mall. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Ms Sorensen added: “I didn’t expect it, but my eyes definitely glazed over, it’s not what I remember that’s for sure.

“We really were a family together, Myer was an amazing place to work.”

The Myer Centre’s rebranding will be revealed on Tuesday.

Emotional former staff Rhea Sorensen (left) and Nicole Anne Ho outside the Myer store on its last day. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

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