In a bold move to establish itself as an international department store chain, Myer will open its first overseas store in Dubai late next year.
The group has plans to open another four outlets across the United Arab Emirates and eventually break into the burgeoning Eastern European market.
Myer's CEO Bernie Brookes told The Sydney Morning Herald that Dubai was the obvious choice for the first international store because the city was recognised as the shopping hub of the region and was one of the most densely shopped cities in the world.
He says it was a turning point for the company and would establish Myer as "an international-class department store".
"Three of the 10 largest shopping malls in the world are in Dubai, and retail is expected to surge by 12% through until 2011 in the UAE, but at an even faster rate in Dubai," he says.
"Importantly, this will be the first of a number of stores over the next few years as property is sourced and completed. We are looking at further store expansion within Dubai and beyond into the broader Gulf region, the Middle East and Eastern Europe."
Brookes says Myer Dubai would resemble a city store like Myer Bondi and would stock a full range of designers and lines. "We have been focusing on getting our home market right, which we have done, and we will be opening another 15 stores, so we will outgrow Australia."
Myer will open in the new Ibn Battuta Mall in partnership with Nakheel Retail, an arm of the Dubai World group of companies. Nakheel Retail recently bought the New York department store Barneys, with plans to use the brand as an anchor-tenant in its new malls.
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