Myer to close Knox Westfield store in Wantirna South

Myer will close one of its major stores that has been operating for nearly 50 years, as more customers turn to online shopping.

More jobs at Myer are set to go after the retail giant announced it would close its Wantirna South store in suburban Melbourne at the end of July.

The store at Westfield Knox in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs has been operating for about 44 years.

It comes as part of the department store chain’s plan to shut down more than 110,000sq m of floor space across the country.

“In making this decision today, we have taken into account our rising online sales as well as the number of Myer stores that are in proximity to the Knox store including Eastland, Fountain Gate, Chadstone and Frankston,” Myer said in a statement to the ASX on Wednesday.

Myer chief executive John King said the chain would continue to make “targeted improvements to our store network while reducing space and improving the offer for our loyal customers”.

“We thank our Knox team members for their significant contribution to Myer, and we look forward to continuing to serve our loyal customers either in nearby stores or online,” he said in a statement.

“Myer will support all impacted team members through a period of consultation and will look to redeploy as many team members as possible.”

The closure comes after Myer shut down its Logan store in Queensland in January 2019 and Hornsby in Sydney in January 2020.

Space reductions have also been undertaken at Belconnen, Cairns, Emporium and Morley.

Westfield Knox shopping centre was officially opened on November 9, 1977, and originally had a three-storey Myer.

Originally published as Myer to close Knox Westfield store in Wantirna South