In omni-channel drive.
Retailer Myer has promoted its head of technology to a newly-created chief operating officer role and further slimmed its support office as part of an ongoing transformation to omni-channel retailing.
Mark Cripsey joined Myer in 2015 as its first-ever chief digital and data officer.
As the retailer’s new COO, he will be responsible for physical stores, omni-channel, marketing, data analytics and the company’s Myer One loyalty program, as well as supply chain and back office IT.
Myer CEO Richard Umbers said the COO role had been created to “reflect the important of digital and data across the whole business” and help “seamlessly integrate” Myer’s physical and online operations.
“Under Mark’s leadership, Myer will be better placed to anticipate and respond to the structural shifts occuring in retail and capitalise on the opportunities that exist in improving the use of our customer data,” Umbers said in a statement.
Myer late last year slashed its sales and profit targets after admitting the five-year transformation plan it launched in 2015 would need to be reworked.
It has “recalibrated’ the New Myer strategy to focus more on “unique experiences” in store as well as better use of the data in the Myer One loyalty program, after identifying its omni-channel shoppers as the most valuable customers.
Umbers also today revealed a ‘further consolidation’ of its support operations as a result of continuining difficult trading conditions.
An entire office floor of support office workers has departed the business, he said. A total of 4.5 floors worth of staff has exited since September 2015. Myer did not provide specific figures.
Myer has been on a recent campaign to make its back office more efficient.
It last year outsourced its customer contact centre and digital services, is currently part-way through the rollout of a Kronos cloud-based workforce management system, and is preparing to implement a new Oracle merchandise planning system.
