(Writes through, adds CEO quotes, shares)
By Byron Kaye
SYDNEY, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Australian department store chain Myer Holdings Ltd MYR.AX swung to an annual loss as store closures and restrictions on movement to slow the coronavirus obliterated sales, and said it was reviewing a third of its outlets ahead of an online future.
A question mark over the future of 21 of its 60 stores underscores the scale of changes being considered by the 120-year-old icon of Australian high-street retail, which said the pandemic had changed the industry forever.
"We must respond to what we believe is a permanently changed CBD landscape," Myer CEO John King said on an analyst call.
"The need to reduce floorspace has never been more apparent than now."
Myer posted a A$172.4 million ($126 million) net loss for the year to July 25, from a A$24.5 million net profit the previous year. The loss included A$133 million of impairment charges to reflect the impact of the virus shutdown on the value of some brands and leases.
While sales fell 15.8% to A$2.52 billion, online sales doubled although they still only accounted for one sixth of the total.
King said the company was in talks with landlords about the future of stores with leases scheduled to expire in the next eight years.
Shares of Myer fell as much as 15% by mid-session, while the broader market .AXJO rose 0.5%, reflecting uncertainty about the company's outlook with no profit guidance given.
Myer was forced to shut down all its stores and temporarily lay off 10,000 employees for most of April amid restrictions due to the virus outbreak. It reopened most of them in May, only to close them once more in the city of Melbourne in August due to a resurgence of the outbreak. said it had received A$93 million from a government stimulus package for companies with furloughed workers, one of the emergency programme's biggest single recipients.
Myer did not declare a final dividend for a third straight year. ($1 = 1.3763 Australian dollars)