ASX Stocks to Watch Myer Holdings (MYR)

Myer Holdings (MYR) is among Australia’s largest department stores, retailing apparel, fashion, fragrances and cosmetics, homewares, electrical goods and general merchandise.

The company floated on the ASX in November last year and became one of the stocks to sell in the months that followed amid a generally bearish outlook for retailers.

Although MYR recovered from those lows, rising interest rates have again clouded the sales outlook meaning it will be one of the stocks to watch in coming months.

On 12 November, MYR reported a 1.5% drop in 1Q11 sales from a year ago to $706 million.  Like-for-like sales were down 1.7% on-year.

MYR attributed the fall in sales to price deflation for its flat screen TVs and other entertainment products.

However, MYR advised that sales for the remainder of 2011 will benefit from a number of growth initiatives such as new stores, refurbishments, and a total rebuild of the Myer Melbourne store.

The group also reaffirmed its previous FY11 guidance of a 5% - 10% growth in net profit to $177 million - $186 million.

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