A week of wealth
Myer’s recent IPO and subsequent listing has emerged as yet another litmus test for the Australian economy and investor sentiment.
It has certainly managed to divide opinions.
Privately there were plenty of mumblings about the listing price, with many thinking it was too optimistic.
Consider the discussion in the lead up – the cover shot of Jennifer Hawkins on the prospectus received almost as much airplay as the nitty gritty details within it.
The conundrum is this: Myer’s strength lies largely in the strength of its brand name and its dominance of the retail landscape in the mind of ‘ordinary’ Australians.
These same ‘Mums and Dads’ are being asked to back the share with cold hard cash – and for many this will not be as easy a decision as it might have been in previous years.
Sure, the media has started the stories heralding the share market recovery and interest rates are on the move again, but given so many people didn’t see the crash coming they are likely to be more suspicious when they are told that everything is suddenly better again.
Somehow, the logic that you would buy shares the same way you would buy Christmas presents seems to have gone unquestioned.
But perhaps the bigger question remains as why this listing means so much to the Australian market as a whole?
The answer is that if it all goes downhill for Myer then it is going to hurt a lot more people than those who swallowed the Hawkins bait.
Imagine those reading about the recovery and still feeling unsure, only to suddenly read about another train wreck.
It could send quite a few off them off the rails and with several other retailers lining up floats, such as Kathmandu and Ascendia, confidence remains a key ingredient to overall growth.
Suddenly, ‘My Store’ has become ‘Our Store’ – get set for an interesting ride.
